à propos

How Paris Created America

2011-06-09T15:31:00.002+02:00

Illustration: Misprinted Type; photos: Getty Images

Read Stacy Schiff's New York Times review of David McCullough's new book The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris (Simon & Schuster), which explores the intellectual legacy that France settled on its 19th-century visitors.

ATA plans its 52nd annual conference

2011-04-11T11:35:00.000+02:00

The American Translators Association (ATA) will host its 52nd Annual Conference in Boston, Massachusetts (October 26-29). This conference showcases diverse panel discussions, expert presentations, training workshops, and scholarly papers. Both general and language-specific sessions will be offered. The conference also offers language professionals one of the best opportunities to network with colleagues. Additional conference activities include a Job Marketplace, a vendor exhibit hall, and ATA certification testing. For conference information see http://www.atanet.org/conf/2011/

For questions, contact Maggie Rowe, Membership Services Manager.
Phone: +1-703- 683-6100, extension 3001
Email: Maggie@atanet.org

Imagine you are a translation graduate

2011-04-05T22:23:00.010+02:00

“You are about to enter a giant, complex and dynamic organism – the translation industry. But how much do you really know about its internal structure, its individual parts and the way they interact? How much do you really know about its evolution and current trends? How much do you know about translation as a business process?” Read Joanna Gough’s insightful article (originally published by TAUS on January 21, 2011) for an interesting perspective on whether translation courses are preparing students for the business of translation.

Web becomes dictionary with Linguee

2011-02-05T22:43:00.003+01:00

As professional translators, we know how essential it is to consider context when choosing the right translation for a given word or phrase. This is now easier thanks to Linguee, a free search service that retrieves sentence pairs from webpages that are available in multiple language versions.

First launched in 2008 in German and English by co-founders Gereon Frahling and Leo Fink, in September 2010 Linguee added Spanish, French and Portuguese comparisons with English. Frahling and Fink plan to add Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Italian later this year.

Co-founders Frahling and Fink manage Linguee at its head office in Cologne

Users report that Linguee's appeal lies in the context it provides. Search results are not limited to translations of single words or short phrases, as is usually the case with online dictionaries, glossaries and databases; instead, the service provides the entire sentence in which the item appears, as well as a link to the webpage on which it was found.

Not every result is reliable, but this is another way in which the context becomes useful: the sentences of dubious quality are easy to spot. Users have the option of voting a translation up or down, and can even edit an erroneous translation or suggest one of their own. Each change is verified by Linguee's editorial board and the community before being accepted.

Linguee is a free service supported by advertising. Users who create an account (free of charge) get their first 100 search queries free of advertising. And for each translation suggestion or change request they make, they are rewarded with an additional 40 ad-free queries. Registered users can also join in discussions about the translations.

Free search plugins (for Firefox, Internet Explorer and Mac OS X) and a Mac dashboard widget are also available.

A Propos thanks Sheryl for sharing this on the list, and other list members for their feedback.

Brassens in English

2010-12-23T05:22:00.006+01:00

Georges Brassens (image: G. Bochenek)

"Translating his works into English is demanding — and it's discouraged quite a few singers. But now French-American composer Pierre de Gaillande has produced an album of Brassens' songs, titled Bad Reputation." Listen to Scott Simon's National Public Radio music interview of December 18, 2010 to hear the results. A Propos thanks Joan for sharing this link!

Translation as Literary Ambassador

2010-12-10T21:30:00.005+01:00

Photo: William P. O'Donnell
for The New York Times

"Hoping to increase their tiny share of the American book market, foreign governments and foundations are plunging into the publishing fray in the United States." Read Larry Rohter's full article (originally published in the New York Times on December 7, 2010) to learn more.

2010 ATA conference: FLD photo highlights

2010-11-25T12:21:00.003+01:00

Adios FLD

2010-11-09T12:56:00.002+01:00

Virginia Fox

Dear fellow members of the FLD,

Mylène and I are concluding two exciting and wonderful years as the administrators of the French Language Division. We have been very proud to serve our over 2,000 members for the last two years, and are particularly happy with the wonderful speakers we presented at the ATA conferences in New York and Denver. We are also very pleased with the dynamic new administration team elected during the Denver conference.

We wish to thank everyone who has helped make our tenure so successful, in particular:

Dominique Blachon, the discreet yet highly efficient moderator of our very useful and dynamic list

David Heath, our wonderful webmaster

Elisabeth Lyman, the former newsletter editor and now fantastic blog editor

Karen Tkaczyk (and the other members of the nominating committee) for finding such strong candidates this year to lead our organization over the next two years

And also a big thank you to those who made the Denver conference so special and successful. Firstly, the soul of the conference – our incredible speakers:

David Jemielity (this year's Division Distinguished Speaker or DDS, senior English translator and head of translations at Banque Cantonale Vaudoise in Lausanne, tenured faculty member at the University of Geneva's School of Translation and Interpretation, with special interest in target-text effectiveness in financial translation and translation process design and management), Grant Hamilton (former DDS, owner and manager of Anglocom, Inc., an agency located in Quebec mainly serving advertising agencies; Grant also teaches FR to EN translation for marketers and advertisers at New York University), Frédéric Houbert (former DDS, teaches legal translation at the University of Cergy-Pontoise in France; he is also the author of Dictionnaire des Difficultés de l'Anglais des Contrats and Guide Pratique de la Traduction Juridique), Betty Howell, Véronique Ponce, Bruce Popp, Karen Tkaczyk and Agnes Meilhac, and Marianne Reiner.

More detailed presenter bios can be found here, and abstracts of their sessions can be found here.

If you missed the conference, I highly recommend that you listen to the sessions on the conference CD that will soon be made available by the ATA.

And last but not least, we would like to thank Corinne McKay for organizing a delicious and very pleasant dinner at the Rodizio Grill. She kept her cool while accepting last-minute reservations and made sure everyone had a great time. It's amazing how much work is involved in planning a successful dinner; thanks Corinne!

Please help us welcome the new administrative team: Bruce Popp and Anne Goff.

Bruce Popp, our new administrator, has a PhD in astronomy from Harvard University. He is a US Patent and Trademark Office Registered Patent Agent, a freelance translator specialized in the translation of patents from FR to EN, and a former member of the board of directors of the New England Translators Association (NETA), based in Massachusetts, near Boston – the site of our next ATA conference!

Anne Goff, our new administrative assistant, has an MA in French translation from the University of Surrey in England. She is currently a freelance FR to EN translator specialized in marketing and human resources. She intends to increase the visibility of the FLD and expand the information provided to members via modern networking tools such as Twitter. She is based in Sacramento, California.

It is a great pleasure to be able to hand over the administrative duties to such a strong team, and we are looking forward to supporting them over the next two years.

Finally, thanks to all of you out there for your continuing and renewed support of our division. You are the heart of this organization, and your contributions are its true value. The administration provides the structure, but the members provide the content: we need your feedback, suggestions, conference reviews and impressions, blog entries and other contributions.

We know we're leaving the French Language Division in good hands. We wish you all the best.

À bientôt sur la liste et le blog !

Virginia Fox and Mylène Vialard

Outgoing administrators of the FLD

Café des Traducteurs in Paris

2010-10-06T01:28:00.000+02:00

One Saturday morning every month in Paris, area translators and interpreters can be seen making their way – whether by bus, métro or Vélib' – to the Café du Pont-Neuf in the 1st arrondissement. They head up the stairs, claim their croissant and coffee, chat a bit with friends and colleagues, then take their places around two long tables in the specially reserved meeting room and turn their attention to the front, where a speaker prepares to present the month's topic.

These are the popular Café des Traducteurs informal breakfast meetings organized by the Ile-de-France section of the Société Française des Traducteurs (SFT). A French-language presentation (last month translation instructor Nicolas Froeliger gave an overview of "la traductologie contemporaine") provides material for stimulating discussion among participants and with the speaker. Each Café des Traducteurs is also a great opportunity to meet and network with other translators and interpreters and – as one attendee put it – a fun way to get out of the house and away from the computer for once! Participants registering in advance are also entered into a drawing for a chance to win a book.

The coordinators of the Café des Traducteurs warmly encourage translators and interpreters living outside France to attend if their travels should bring them to Paris the last Saturday of the month. Participation is open to anyone interested in translation/interpretation – there's no need to be a member of the SFT, or even a translator for that matter. Just bring €8.50 (in cash) to cover the cost of the breakfast, which includes a hot beverage, orange juice and croissant.


FLD Administrator Virginia Fox attended during her recent trip to Paris

To register for an upcoming Café des Traducteurs event or request more information, contact delegation.idf-matinales@sft. fr.

Around the Web: L'Internaute.com

2010-09-19T18:33:00.004+02:00

To discover an excellent one-stop French language and culture resource, visit L'Internaute.com. On the Encyclopédie section of this monolingual site you'll find a dictionary and databases of idioms, proverbs, quotations, family names, history and more, which can each be searched or browsed by theme. There's also a series of useful form letters for different purposes (legal, employment, healthcare etc.), plus a biography and quotation of the day. And when it's time to take a quick break from a translation, you can test your knowledge of culture, literature, geography or current events with a fun interactive quiz.

Histoire d'un mot : « végétarien »

2010-08-31T01:08:00.007+02:00

Tristan GRELLET

Si le végétarisme est un régime ou une philosophie multimillénaire, le terme actuellement utilisé désignant celui qui le pratique n’existe, dans sa forme anglaise (la plus ancienne), que depuis environ 170 ans. La date même de son apparition est sujette à discussion ; quant à sa définition, elle est longtemps restée floue, aussi bien en anglais qu’en français. Aujourd’hui encore, on ne sait pas toujours ce que la notion de végétarien recouvre. Tâchons de faire le point.

Des origines anglaises

La Vegetarian Society prétend avoir créé le mot vegetarian à partir du latin vegetus (« bien vivant », « vif ») en 1847, lors de sa fondation (1). En réalité, ce terme était déjà employé au début des années 1840, sa première attestation datant même, selon l’Oxford English Dictionary, de 1839. On le trouve sous la plume de Frances Anne (dite « Fanny ») Kemble, comédienne et femme de lettres britannique, dans Journal of a residence on a Georgian plantation in 1838-1839 (2). En ce qui concerne l’étymologie, vegetarian semble avoir été formé irrégulièrement à partir de vegetable (3) (« légume ») et du suffixe -arian plutôt que directement à partir de vegetus. Quoi qu’il en soit, c’est bien la Vegetarian Society qui a popularisé et officialisé vegetarian, le substituant au terme alors en vigueur de pythagorean (« pythagoricien (4) »). La première définition qu’elle en donnait laissait la possibilité à l’adepte du végétarisme de consommer ou non des produits laitiers ou des œufs (5). Cette alternative est encore présente dans la définition qu’elle propose aujourd’hui (6). Les premiers dictionnaires, de langue anglaise, à accueillir vegetarian et son dérivé, vegetarianism, se font l’écho d’une telle acception. Par exemple, The Imperial Dictionary (1854) :

« VEGETAʹRIAN, n. One who abstains from animal food, and lives exclusively on vegetables, eggs, milk, etc. — 2. One who maintains that vegetables constitute the only proper food for man. »

(« VÉGÉTARIEN, n. Celui qui s’abstient de nourriture animale et vit exclusivement de végétaux, d’œufs, de lait, etc. — 2. Celui qui soutient que les végétaux constituent la seule nourriture qui convient à l’homme. »)

Nous pouvons néanmoins constater que le fait de consommer ou non des produits laitiers ou des œufs n’est plus présenté comme une alternative au sein d’une seule définition mais fait l’objet de deux définitions, donc de deux conceptions, contradictoires. Étonnamment, c’est la seconde définition seule qui sera retenue par An American dictionary of the English language pour expliquer vegetarian, et qui restera telle quelle pendant tout le xix^e siècle. On aboutit même parfois à des paradoxes : dans le supplément à l’Imperial Dictionary, la définition de vegetarian exclut la consommation d’œufs et de produits laitiers, mais celle de vegetarianism les inclut !

L’arrivée en France

Si on ne peut dater précisément l’introduction du mot végétarien en français, il est manifeste qu’il est apparu bien avant la date généralement donnée par les dictionnaires (7): 1873. On peut en effet le relever dès 1853 sous la plume du chimiste Anselme Payen dans Des substances alimentaires. Celui-ci, sans surprise, reprend un certain nombre de clichés de l’époque : les végétariens forment une secte, née en Angleterre, « pays des excentricités », et leur système, ne présentant que des inconvénients, n’est pas voué à un grand succès. L’auteur mentionne ainsi le fait que les Anglais sont et resteront le plus fort consommateur de viande au monde (8).

Comme le remarque Dupré dans son Encyclopédie du bon français dans l’usage contemporain : « La formation du mot végétarien est surprenante ; on attendrait végétalien ou végétaliste ; le suffixe -arien est rare en français, et réservé aux dérivés de mots en -aire (agrarien, prolétarien, unitarien). » Bref, ce terme est un calque maladroit et paresseux de l’anglais, comme l’atteste le dérivé végétarianisme, seul à figurer dans les suppléments au Dictionnaire de la langue française de Littré et au Grand Dictionnaire universel du xix^e siècle de Larousse (tous deux parus en 1877), tandis que son successeur, végétarisme, figurera à ses côtés dans le second supplément au Grand Dictionnaire universel (paru en 1890). Dans un premier temps les dictionnaires de Littré et de Larousse ne donnent que les végétaux pour toute alimentation du végétarien (« qui ne vit que de substances végétales »). Végétarien finissant par s’imposer péniblement en France au détriment de l’ambigu pythagoricien ou de l’ironique légumiste (9), la francisation de son dérivé, végétarianisme, est à l’ordre du jour. Puis, à partir des années 1890, les dictionnaires accueillent végétarisme et végétalisme (10), ce dernier terme étant le plus conforme à notre langue, mais mal relié à végétarien. Cette soudaine profusion de mots pour désigner une même réalité n’est pas sans créer de confusions. Le plus ancien (et le plus lourd), végétarianisme, va donc rapidement disparaître. Quant à végétalisme, il ne va pas détrôner végétarisme, alors solidement installé, mais va prendre le sens de ce dernier, qui lui gagnera celui que l’on connaît aujourd’hui. Bien que les premiers Petit Larousse ne fassent pas encore nettement la distinction entre les deux termes, (11) ce n’est pas le cas du Grand Dictionnaire universel, qui propose de surcroît des définitions tout à fait intéressantes : pour végétarisme, « Doctrine diététique, consistant dans l’abstention de tout aliment qui ne peut s’obtenir que par la destruction d’une vie animale » ; pour végétalisme, « Régime des personnes qui se nourrissent exclusivement de végétaux ». On peut toutefois constater que nos dictionnaires, contrairement aux dictionnaires de langue anglaise, n’évoquent que l’aspect diététique du végétarisme, en occultant le choix éthico-philosophique. Si Le Petit Larousse a remédié à cette lacune dans les dernières éditions de son dictionnaire, Le Petit Robert continue pour sa part à ne parler que de « doctrine diététique ».

Des problèmes de définition

Tous les dictionnaires en revanche proposent une définition « apophatique » de végétarisme, le définissant avant tout non par ce qu’il permet de manger, mais par ce qu’il interdit de consommer. Même si René Suzineau pensait que définir le végétarisme de façon positive le rendrait plus attrayant, on se rend vite compte des problèmes engendrés par cette solution : une imprécision si l’on se limite aux végétaux et le risque d’une liste interminable si l’on y ajoute le lait, les œufs, le miel, les champignons, les algues bleues (12)…

Une autre différence entre Petit Larousse et Petit Robert est que le premier inclut le végétalisme (aussi appelé « végétarisme pur ») dans le végétarisme, à l’instar de ce qu’a toujours préconisé la Vegetarian Society, tandis que le second oppose les deux. Dans le premier cas, il sera pertinent de parler d’ovo-, de lacto- et d’ovo-lacto-végétarien (termes apparus au début du xx^e siècle) ; mais, quel que soit le cas, parler de semi-végétarien paraît hasardeux, et totalement inapproprié dans le cadre d’un végétarisme éthique (13).

Le végétarisme éthique, justement, ne peut se satisfaire de la définition traditionnelle donnée à végétarisme, « qui exclut de l’alimentation la viande » (Le Petit Robert) ou « Système d’alimentation supprimant les viandes » (Le Petit Larousse), car, si viande peut recouvrir au sens large (et notamment lorsque le mot est mis au pluriel) la chair du poisson, il ne saurait englober la gélatine ou la présure, toutes substances qu’un végétarien « éthique » cherchera à éviter. Dans ce cas, une seconde acception du mot pourrait être, mutatis mutandis, celle que propose le Grand Dictionnaire universel, citée plus haut : « Doctrine diététique, consistant dans l’abstention de tout aliment qui ne peut s’obtenir que par la destruction d’une vie animale. » Formulé de façon plus contemporaine, cela peut aboutir à la définition suivante : « Nous appellerons végétarien toute personne qui […] s’abstient, lorsque cela est humainement évitable dans les conditions où elle se trouve, de supprimer directement ou indirectement la vie des animaux, pour quelque raison que ce soit […] » (André Méry, Les Végétariens. Raisons et sentiments). Celle-ci a le mérite de pouvoir être appliquée à un végétarien, un végétalien ou un vegan (14), encore qu’elle s’éloigne un peu des définitions couramment admises.

Comme nous venons de le voir, le terme végétarien, ainsi que ses dérivés, a eu depuis sa naissance une histoire mouvementée et a beaucoup varié dans sa signification. Aujourd’hui encore, il suffit de faire un sondage autour de soi pour constater qu’il y a presque autant de définitions différentes de ce mot que d’individus interrogés. Si nos dictionnaires accordent une place plus importante aux mots du végétarisme et en peaufinent la définition, force est de constater que la définition idéale reste à inventer…

Tristan GRELLET

www.lesmotsduvegetarisme.fr

Passionné de français et intéressé par les langues en général, Tristan Grellet est correcteur pour différentes maisons d’édition (Larousse, Gallimard…). Il suit également des études de lettres classiques.

(1) www.vegsoc.org/news/2000/canapes.html.

(2) « The sight and smell of raw meat are especially odious to me, and I have often thought that if I had had to be my own cook, I should inevitably become a vegetarian, probably, indeed, return entirely to my green and salad days » (« La vue et l’odeur de la viande crue me sont particulièrement désagréables, et j’ai souvent pensé que si j’avais dû être ma propre cuisinière, je serais inévitablement devenue végétarienne et probablement, en fait, retournée totalement à ma verte jeunesse »).

(3) Vegetable vient de l’ancien français vegetable, lui-même issu du latin vegetabilis, « vivifiant », qui a pour origine vegetare, « animer », celui-ci étant tiré de vegetus. Nous voyons donc que, quelle que soit l’hypothèse étymologique privilégiée, vegetarian vient bien de vegetus, même si dans ce cas c’est par un lointain cheminement.

(4) Du nom de Pythagore, philosophe et mathématicien grec qui aurait été végétarien.

(5) Ce qui se traduit dans les repas mêmes confectionnés à l’occasion des réunions de la Vegetarian Society, où sont proposés indifféremment plats végétariens et végétaliens.

(6) « A vegetarian is someone living on a diet of grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits with or without the use of dairy products and eggs » (« Un végétarien est quelqu’un qui vit d’un régime de céréales, de légumineuses, de noix, de graines, de légumes et de fruits avec ou sans l’utilisation de produits laitiers et d’œufs ») http://www.vegsoc.org/info/definitions.html.

(7) Grand Larousse de la langue française, Le Grand Robert de la langue française et Trésor de la langue française informatisé.

(8) Cette observation a déjà été faite quelques années auparavant par Jean-Antoine Gleizes (ou Gleïzès, nom qu’il adopta à partir des années 1820), auteur français de la fin du xviii^e siècle et du xix^e qui publia plusieurs ouvrages historiques et de réflexion sur le végétarisme. Ce dernier se réjouissait ainsi de ce que le peuple français consommait moins de viande que le peuple anglais, « preuve la plus évidente de son perfectionnement ».

(9) Dupré y voit une « création heureuse et logique, mais qui n’a pas eu de succès ». Quoique employé par des gens bien intentionnés, légumiste, dont l’acception première est « Jardinier qui se consacre à la culture des légumes », a probablement dû être appliqué aux végétariens de façon péjorative. Nous en voulons pour preuve le fait qu’il restreigne l’alimentation des végétariens aux seuls légumes et qu’on le retrouve très souvent dans le syntagme secte des légumistes.

(10) Curieusement, végétalien ne fera son apparition dans Le Petit Larousse (qui propose également végétaliste) qu’à la fin du xx^e siècle. Le Petit Robert, quant à lui, n’a intégré ce mot qu’en 2007 !

(11) « végétarisme (ris-me) ou végétalisme (lis-me) n. m. (de végétal). Système d’alimentation dans lequel on supprime toutes les espèces de viande ou même tous les produits d’origine animale, dans un but soit prophylactique, soit curatif » (Petit Larousse illustré, 1913).

(12) On considère aujourd’hui les champignons comme un règne à part entière, ne faisant plus partie des végétaux. Les algues bleues sont des bactéries.

(13) On ne saurait non plus, comme le fait le Larousse gastronomique, parler de « pesco-végétarisme » (régime végétarien admettant le poisson). Ce terme, outre qu’il est absurde, est un barbarisme. Il faudrait parler de pisco- ou de pisci-végétarisme. « Le terme pesco-végétarien, calqué sur l’anglais qui l’a sans doute lui-même emprunté à une autre langue, est formé à partir de l’élément pesco-, inexistant en français. L’élément français correspondant au mot poisson est pisci-, du latin piscis, dont sont d’ailleurs tirés certains mots français comme pisciculture » (Le Grand Dictionnaire terminologique). Il en va de même du « pollo-végétarisme » (régime végétarien admettant la volaille)…

(14) Le Grand Dictionnaire terminologique le définit par « Adepte fervent du végétalisme qui n’utilise dans la vie courante aucun produit d’origine animale » et le traduit par « végétalien intégral », « hypervégétalien » ou « végintégriste ». Ces traductions ne nous satisfaisant pas vraiment, nous préférons conserver le mot anglais.

Sources

A supplement to the Imperial Dictionary, sous la dir. de John Ogilvie, Blackie and son, 1855.

Dupré (Paul), Encyclopédie du bon français dans l’usage contemporain, 3 vol., Éditions de Trévise, 1972.

Ernout (Alfred) et Meillet (Antoine), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine, Charles Klincksieck, 1951.

Esquiros (Alphonse), « M. Gleïzès. — Le régime des herbes », dans Revue des Deux Mondes, Revue des Deux Mondes, 1846 ; vol. XV, p. 837 à 857.

Gleïzès (Jean-Antoine), Thalysie, ou la Nouvelle Existence, 3 vol., Louis Desessart, 1840-1842.

Grand Larousse de la langue française, sous la dir. de Louis Guilbert, René Lagane et Georges Niobey, 7 vol., Larousse, 1989.

Grand Robert de la langue française (Le) [en ligne, ressource payante], Le Robert, 2005-2008. http://gr.bvdep.com/ (page consultée le 25 avril 2010).

Harper (Douglas), Online Etymology Dictionary [en ligne]. http://www.etymonline.com/ (page consultée le 25 avril 2010).

Imperial Dictionary (The), sous la dir. de John Ogilvie, 3 vol., Blackie and son, 1854.

Kemble (Frances Ann), Journal of a residence on a Georgian plantation in 1838-1839, Harper and brothers, 1864.

Larousse (Pierre), Grand Dictionnaire universel du xix^e siècle, Administration du Grand Dictionnaire universel, 1877 et [1890] ; vol. XVI et XVII (suppléments).

Larousse gastronomique, Larousse-Bordas, 1997.

Littré (Émile), Dictionnaire de la langue française. Supplément, Hachette, 1886.

Méry (André), Les Végétariens. Raisons et sentiments, La Plage éditeur, 1998.

Office québécois de la langue française, Grand Dictionnaire terminologique (Le) [en ligne], Gouvernement du Québec, 2002. http://www.granddictionnaire.com/ (page consultée le 25 avril 2010).

Oxford English Dictionary [en ligne, ressource payante], Oxford University Press, 2010. http://dictionary.oed.com/ (page consultée le 25 avril 2010).

Payen (Anselme), Des substances alimentaires, Louis Hachette, 1853.

Petit Robert (Le), Dictionnaires Le Robert, 2007.

Petit Larousse (Le), Larousse, 2010.

Petit Larousse illustré, sous la dir. de Claude Augé, Larousse, 1913.

Spencer (Colin), The Heretic’s Feast : a history of vegetarianism, University Press of New England, 1996.

Suzineau (René), Le Végétarisme, Seghers, 1977.

Trésor de la langue française informatisé (Le) [en ligne], CNRS, Atilf, 2002. http://atilf.atilf.fr/ (page consultée le 25 avril 2010).

« Vegetarian Society », dans Scientific American, Munn and Company, 6 janvier 1849.

Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom (The), Vegetarian Society [en ligne]. http://www.vegsoc.org/ (page consultée le 25 avril 2010).

Webster (Noah), An American dictionary of the English language, G. et C. Merriam, 1865.

Language resource apps for the iPad

2010-07-21T16:07:00.003+02:00

Bruce D. Popp

I have an iPad (which I use a lot and like enormously; I never got an iPhone) and I've been looking at French-English language resource apps. Here's my review of what I've seen, including one bright spot and starting with my conditions.

In looking at apps I want iPad apps; iPhone apps work on an iPad but don't look any better than they do on an iPhone---they still use a small window and tiny keyboard, which are the two leading reasons (I have more) that I never got an iPhone.

For bilingual dictionaries, my standard references are my two workhorses: The Collins-Robert Electronic French Dictionary which says it has "over one million translations and includes some 120,000 entries" and the paper Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary, Third Edition which says it has "over 900,000 words, phrases, and translations," and in another place on the dust jacket "over 360,000 words and phrases, and 550,000 translations." In practical use, I haven't seen much difference in the extent or comprehensiveness of the coverage. Obviously comparing and making sense of these numbers is ambiguous. I would like an iPad app of comparable coverage.

Finally I'm looking at apps on the US iTunes store. (To make iTunes purchases, the billing address for your credit/debit card must be in the country corresponding to the store. There is a France iTunes store, but I am unable to make purchases there.)

So here goes:

Monolingual French

Here's the bright spot:

The app name is Dictionnaire, the icon is a book with a brown cover, yellow "D" on the cover and a "bleu, blanc et rouge" bookmark sticking out between the pages. The very modest icon goes well with a very modest price of $1.99. But under the modest cover, this is the Trésor de la langue française informatisé in full. I've only looked up about a half-dozen words, but I've been pleased. Most other dictionaries have prices closer to book prices, so this price can't be beat. Worth a special trip to the app store.

Le Robert has Dixel for $11.99 but no Nouveau Petit Robert (or Grand Robert). I haven't considered buying it.

Larousse and others have iPhone apps, but I haven't looked at those for the reasons given above.

Monolingual English

I have the paper and PC versions of The American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition. It is available as an iPhone app, but not an iPad app. While writing this review, I sent the publisher an e-mail asking if they had a release date for an iPad version, and they replied that it was in testing. The iPhone app price is $29.95. I'm waiting for an iPad version of this one.

Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged is available in a "designed for both iPhone and iPad" version. The price is $59.99 which seems expensive. I've heard that this edition of Webster's (paper version) is dated and overdue for an update. I'm not going to purchase this one.

(For completeness, I should note that Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition is available as an iPad app for $24.99. This is an abridged dictionary with substantially fewer entries than either the American Heritage or Webster's. I'm not going to purchase this one either.)

For people who work with that other language with the same name but spoken on the other side of the Atlantic, Chambers has an iPad dictionary but Oxford only has iPhone versions.

Bilingual Dictionaries

Collins Pro French-English Translation Dictionary, iPhone $24.99. It says it has "84,000 fully developed definitions for 45,000 headwords". Clearly this doesn't come close to measuring up to my two workhorses (above) and it's an iPhone app.

Larousse English/French Dictionary, iPhone $5.95. It says it has 250,000 words and phrases and 400,000 translations. This is better than the Collins app, but still not up to the workhorses and it too is an iPhone app. The price seems surprisingly low.

Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, iPhone $24.95. It says "over 360,000 words and phrases and 550,000 translations" just like my paper third edition (but without the "Oxford comma"). This meets the standard for coverage, but it is not an iPad app. Again, while writing this review, I sent the publisher an e-mail asking if they had a release date for an iPad version, and they replied, "At the moment we do not have available version for iPad because Oxford University Press has still not licensed rights to publish on iPad to any software publisher."

French-English Translation Dictionary by UltraLingua, iPad $19.99. I don't know anything about Ultralingua. They say they have "over 85,000 headwords and 270,000 definitions". Numerically better and cheaper than Collins and it is an iPad app, but it falls short of Larousse, Oxford Hachette, and my expectations.

Harrap's Unabridged English <-> French Dictionary, iPad $29.99. It says its dictionary database has over 137,000 entries. So, this too seems to fall short of my expectations.

Summary

If you like iPhone apps, you have good options. On the iPad the TLFi is a bright spot; otherwise, I'm waiting for better options to become available.

Interviews with Karen: Ann Wiles

2010-07-04T10:21:00.003+02:00

Ann Wiles

An interview by contributor Karen Tkaczyk.

For those readers who don't know you, can you tell us a little about your personal and educational background?

It took me longer than most to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. The School of Music at the University of Michigan was my first stop on a long journey. My next choice for my college major was German, but I didn't think there was any way to make a living with a language major, so I transferred to the School of Nursing out of a strong interest in anything medical. After receiving my undergraduate degree, I worked as a registered nurse (RN) in public health for four years. I then began work on a Master of Public Health at the University of Michigan but switched to the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Oakland University, which would give me broader opportunities to be involved in business management.

I returned to hospital work as the Department Manager of Management Systems. After being promoted to Assistant Hospital Director at one of the largest hospitals in the country, I was responsible for managing large budgets, multiple departments, large groups of people, and several outpatient facilities. After 10 years in hospital administration, I had tired of the stress of a high-powered job, so I decided to take one more stab at the perfect career. Through a series of lucky coincidences, I became hooked on French and learned that there was a profession called "translation." I needed the time and freedom of mind to acquire the necessary expertise in both French and translation, so I became a Certified Coding Specialist (CCS). Coders read and analyze medical records and then assign the proper diagnosis and procedure codes. This provided me with unexpected benefits in translation later on.

How or why did you get started in T&I?

The United Nations was a favorite destination for school trips when I was growing up. The buildings were impressive, but I was the most fascinated by the simultaneous interpreters. I never wanted to be an interpreter and didn't discover until many, many years later that there was such a thing as a translator. I found out through my umpteenth version of "What Color is Your Parachute?" and a particularly good career skills test that led me to the codes in the U.S. government's "Dictionary of Occupational Titles" that best suited me. One of those occupations was translator, and I knew immediately that I had found my career.
When I was finally ready to take the plunge, I decided that I wanted an official credential in translation, but no programs were available locally. I couldn't even find a translation course until I realized (duh!) that where I lived in Michigan was right next door to a country with French as one of its official languages. My first course in translation was at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The Windsor course helped me get admitted to the translation program at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The Georgetown program was exactly what I needed to learn translation (French to English specifically), translation business practices, and knowledge in both languages of a broad range of subject areas. I commuted from Detroit to Washington for two semesters while working full time as a coder. I had a ball and even got to see the cherry blossoms that year. In 2001, I received a Certificate of Proficiency in French to English Translation, which was a great help in becoming ATA certified very early in my translation career.

Do you have a good early story about your business?

Given my productivity and MBA background, I never had problems with such things as estimating how long a project would take or getting paid. Early on, however, I found it difficult to resist the temptation to translate too "literally" for editors who seemed to prefer it. I had one very painful experience with taking a job I shouldn't have taken because it required a style very different from my technical writing style. I compounded the mistake by translating too "literally" and not the way I was trained. The job was sent back to me for a redo. I was crushed and terrified, but I used everything I had been taught and desperately called on skills I didn't know I had to rewrite the translation. The agency loved it and was enthusiastic about how much their end-client would love it. I learned my lesson and never received a redo again.

Do you have a typical customer?

I have been translating mostly for agencies in the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe. Recently, I started adding direct clients for medical records translations with a good response so far.

What is unusual or unique about your practice in comparison to your competitors?

• I have real-life, professional (non-translation) experience related to most of the translations that I take, from operative reports to human resource management to standard operating procedures to deciphering physician handwriting. My clients sense the difference in my translations, which stems from the fact that I have personally worked in an operating room, managed people in a large corporation, and written procedures in a business environment.

• I track quantitative indicators for my translation business. The greatest benefit is knowing ahead of time how long a project will take, since I have a strong aversion to staying up all night working on a translation (or anything else). Although I generally charge by the word, I track how much I make per hour, which assists me in determining, for example, if a certain payment "discount" makes sense. Surprisingly, it often does.

• I get much of my continuing education alongside physicians through the University of Michigan Medical School and receive credits approved by the American Medical Association.

Do you have a customer experience or feedback that you are most proud of?

A number of years ago, a new agency client asked me to translate large volumes of handwritten physician progress notes. Their medically related end-client was quite concerned about translation quality as the result of previous bad experiences elsewhere. I had a tough time with the first few pages, which they wanted up front as a sample, but they gave me the go-ahead. After I submitted the 90 or so pages, the agency owner called to tell me that their end-client was "drooling" over the translation.

Does your business have an online presence?

My Web site is www.awiles.net. Having developed it mostly for informational purposes, I was very surprised when my most recent new client told me she found me through a general Google search. My listing in the ATA directory has been a great source of work. As for more popular avenues such as Facebook, their signal-to-noise ratio still seems less than optimal to me, but I am investigating LinkedIn.

Do you do any non-profit work related to T&I?

I have been translating as a volunteer for Traducteurs Sans Frontières/Médecins Sans Frontières in Paris for many years.

Do you have an interesting story about a customer interaction you had?

Yes, but it's not printable. I have a good one, though, about searching for terminology. Medical records are notorious for their abbreviations and symbols. I can usually figure out symbols from the context, but nursing notes from France have arrows (some up, some down, some on the diagonal, etc.) that I couldn't figure out even after one 200-page job. I keep a list with me when I travel in case I find someone who can help. I came down with a minor illness that nevertheless needed immediate treatment while I was on what happened to be a French cruise ship in the Antarctic. The doctor was ashore visiting the penguins (I had already had my turn), so I struck up a conversation with the French nurse while waiting for him to get back. She had the answer to my question and was thrilled to be having a conversation in French. It turns out that no matter what direction the arrows are pointing, it always means the same thing, and it is true across hospitals in France. It refers to stopping or removing something such as a catheter, an IV, oxygen, etc. According to her, there is no symbol at all for starting a treatment. No wonder I was confused.

What are some of your greatest challenges in your business?

• Dealing with too much work.

• Dealing with not enough work.

Ann may be reached at ann@awiles.net or +1 734-347-8183.

Call for nominations

2010-06-10T23:16:00.000+02:00

The nominating committee has received a great nomination for Administrator. Only one, so at this point the election will be uncontested.

Before the beginning of July we need a nomination for Assistant Administrator. We are telling members that we have a candidate for Administrator in the hope that this will inspire one or more of you to offer to help him run the FLD. Yes, him! The FLD will have a man in charge after a long time, unless of course other nominations for Administrator come in before the deadline and we hold an election.

The call for Nominations is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/listeFLD/files/FLD_Call%20for%20nominations.pdf. It has lots more information and the link for the nomination form. Please contact any of the nominating committee (me, Julie Porter, Alan Dages and Patrice Vanhyle) for further information. We will publish the slate of candidates in early July.

Karen Tkaczyk (Nominating Committee Chair)

Interviews with Karen: Eric Bullington

2010-05-17T12:09:00.007+02:00

Eric Bullington

An interview by contributor Karen Tkaczyk.

For those readers who don’t know you, can you tell us a little about your personal and educational background?

I spent the 1990s traveling and living in Europe and North Africa and studying in the US. In 1997, I was awarded a bachelor’s degree in French by the College of Charleston, as well as a university specialization in the Classics (Greek, Latin, and classical civilization) called the Artium Baccalaureatus degree. I was introduced to the world of medicine and health in the late-1990s when I underwent training as an emergency medical technician; during training I completed over 200 hours of coursework in emergency medicine and worked alongside nurses and physicians both in the field and in hospitals. In 1999, I went to New Orleans to study public health at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and decided to specialize in international health, which was a natural progression for me. While at Tulane, I also had the opportunity to take coursework in epidemiology as well as clinical classes in tropical medicine. I soon switched to part-time status at Tulane as a result of an opportunity that I was given to work as a contract interpreter and translator for Catholic Charities Office of Refugee Resettlement in New Orleans. For several ensuing years, I worked as an interpreter and studied public health part-time at Tulane (I received my Master of Public Health degree from Tulane in 2003). In 2002, I went to Baltimore for a summer and completed 12 hours of graduate coursework in epidemiology and biostatistics from Johns Hopkins University. I subsequently spent one year working as a public health researcher and statistician. During this same time, I also started working as a part-time freelance translator specializing in medical and pharmaceutical translations and in 2004 I began translating full-time. I now work exclusively with documentation from the fields of medicine, public health, international development, and the pharmaceutical industry. I maintain my ties to public health and medicine by volunteering with my local branch of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). I serve on the branch’s steering committee and frequently participate in training in disaster medicine and public health preparedness. Last year, I represented the MRC on the South Carolina Pandemic Influenza Ethics Task Force, which drafted a white paper to serve as an ethical framework for South Carolina's response to an influenza pandemic (which came in handy during the H1N1 pandemic).

How or why did you get started in T&I?

It’s an interesting story. I was already fluent in French and Bosnian before I started my studies in public health at Tulane University in New Orleans. During the winter break of my first year at the program, I did a short volunteer stint in post-war Kosovo helping to do structural assessments for a small non-governmental organization. Upon my return, I noted an article in the local paper about a group of refugee families that were being re-settled in New Orleans by Catholic Charities of New Orleans. None of the Kosovar Albanian refugees spoke English. I called Catholic Charities to volunteer my services as a speaker of the language(s) referred to as “Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian” by the United Nations, which is spoken fluently by many Albanians from Kosovo. They called me in and after watching me interact with the refugees, offered me a job as a translator and interpreter. So my on-the-job training started immediately, and within weeks I was doing consecutive interpreting at job seminars and other events held for refugees from both Kosovo and Bosnia, as well as doing a great deal of community interpreting. I stopped interpreting in 2002, but I continued to translate as a freelancer, eventually making freelance translating my full-time job in 2004.

Do you have a good early story about your business?

If we are honest, I suspect that most translators have terrible yet revealing stories from their early years in the business, ones in which they end up pounding out 10,000 words of translation over a 24-hour period. Although intensively unpleasant at the time, these incidents do at times result in good stories (or at least interesting ones) and I certainly have my share of them. During my first year or two, I sometimes misjudged project deadlines and then stayed up all night to finish in time. Fortunately, those of us who stick with freelance translation live and learn; now, after ten years of full- and part-time work in the translation industry, I’m happy to have achieved a level of consistency and quality that is no longer conducive to that type of “good” story. An ideal project for me is an uneventful project where everything goes according to plan, even though such projects rarely lead to a good story.

Do you have a typical customer?

My typical agency client is one specializing in medical, or at the very least scientific, translations. And because of my background in international health and development, I’m picking up more and more direct clients in that area, many of whom are connected with the United Nations system or the United States Agency for International Development.

What is unusual or unique about your practice, in comparison to your competitors?

I’m quick to learn new computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools –or translation environment tools (TEnTs), if you prefer – and am happy to learn proprietary software for my clients, as long as I’m allowed to leverage my existing translation memories and terminology bases on the new software. However, I generally do not offer “translation-memory discounts” or “fuzzy match rates.”

Do you have a customer experience or feedback that you are most proud of?

My most recent direct client has both subject area expertise in the area of my translation, as well as fluency in both the source and target language, and she was very pleased with my work. It’s very rewarding for me to receive compliments directly from the end users of my translations, particularly when they are subject area experts.

Does your business have an online presence? A website, blog or a profile on social web spaces like Linked In, Facebook, MySpace or YouTube?

My main website is in a blog format (I use WordPress), and I feature my Twitter feed on my website’s home page (www.clinicaltranslations.com). I’ve been on LinkedIn since its beginning, and although not every interaction I’ve had has led to work, I have been able to connect with colleagues and potential clients, which has benefited my business in the end.

Do you do any non-profit work related to T&I?

Yes, I do frequent volunteer work for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). I contribute a great deal of unpaid work to MSF-USA, mostly in the form of translations but also some project management skills, such as earlier this year when I coordinated their translator response to the earthquake in Haiti. I also occasionally accept paid contracts from MSF-USA when they’ve specifically budgeted for a translation. This arrangement recently gave me the opportunity to translate a chapter from an MSF book on humanitarian assistance in Niger called A Not-so Natural Disaster: Niger ’05, edited by Xavier Crombé and Jean-Hervé Jézéquel and published by Columbia University Press in 2009. I donate my time and expertise to MSF because I strongly believe in their mission, but without question, this collaboration has been mutually beneficial. I’ve learned a lot from the projects I’ve done for them and met some very knowledgeable colleagues along the way.

Do you have an interesting story about a customer interaction you had?

Unfortunately, the most interesting customer interactions I’ve had are all bound by confidentiality agreements, so I can’t share them. But I can say that I had the opportunity to translate some interesting material in Bosnian relating to national security back when I did translations outside of the medical and pharmaceutical fields. And I’ve had a chance to translate the medical records of a world leader. But for me, every informed consent form or journal article that I translate is interesting – I genuinely enjoy what I do.

What are some of your greatest challenges in your business? Has the recession affected you in any way? If so, how so?

The greatest I challenge I have now is finding enough time to continue to conduct marketing for my business. I have enough client demand now that I could spend all of my time translating. Unfortunately, that type of monolithic business strategy will likely leave me with the same revenue in five years that I earn now. So I need to force myself to do whatever it takes – including turning down jobs – to make time to market my services to higher-paying clients.

I’m very fortunate not to have been affected by the recession. Over the past year, my income has risen by as much as it rose in the years preceding the recession.

Concours pour le recrutement d'interprètes de langue française

2010-05-11T03:44:00.002+02:00

Chers collègues,

J'ai le grand plaisir de vous annoncer qu'en juin 2010, le Secrétariat de l'Organisation des Nations Unies organisera un concours pour le recrutement d'interprètes de langue française. Le concours aura lieu normalement le 29 juin 2010. Les dossiers de candidature doivent être reçus le 14 mai 2010 au plus tard.

Veuillez trouver à l'adresse internet ci-dessous l'annonce contenant les détails concernant ce concours.

http://www.un.org/french/Depts/OHRM/examin/fexam.htm

Bonne chance!
Virginia

Virginia K. Fox, CT
FLD Administrator

FLD call for nominations

2010-04-27T12:33:00.001+02:00

The French Language Division Nominating Committee is pleased to call for nominations from the FLD membership for the following positions:

Administrator (2-year term)
Assistant Administrator (2-year term)

Election of these officers is held every two years in accordance with our FLD bylaws. The results of the election will be announced at the FLD Annual Meeting, which will be held during ATA’s 51st Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado, October 27-30, 2010. Terms will be served from that date.

FLD OFFICER DUTIES
FLD officers must be members of the French Language Division as well as voting members of ATA. You will find a summary of duties for both the administrator and assistant administrator positions online at http://www.americantranslators.org/divisions/Officer_Duties.pdf
Serving in a division leadership role provides enormous opportunity, both professionally and personally. Division officers frequently find themselves becoming more successful in their own careers as they develop additional skills, make useful business connections, and share ideas with other division members.

HOW TO NOMINATE A CANDIDATE
Your assistance in helping the FLD Nominating Committee identify interested, capable colleagues is crucial to the election process and the division. Qualified candidates must be voting (active or corresponding) members of ATA and members of the French Language Division. Any division member may make a nomination, and self-nominations are also welcome.
If you plan to put a name forward for a nomination, it would be helpful if you could contact the potential nominee first and tell them of your intention. Let them know that a nomination does not guarantee a formal invitation to run for office. Remember that FLD officers serve on a volunteer basis; please do not nominate colleagues who express serious concerns about service or who have conflicting priorities.

To nominate a candidate for FLD office, you may contact any member of the Nominating Committee listed below or download the Nomination Form from http://www.atanet.org/divisions/elections_2010/nomform_FLD.pdf

The nomination form may be mailed, emailed or faxed to ATA Headquarters:

Jamie Padula
Chapter and Division Relations Manager
American Translators Association
225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Fax (703) 683-6122

FLD NOMINATING COMMITTEE
A Nominating Committee has been appointed to actively seek nominations for candidates. Members of the 2010 FLD Nominating Committee are:

• Alan Dages RightWord33 AT cs.com
• Julie Porter julie.porter AT prodigy.net
• Karen Tkaczyk karen AT mcmillantranslation.com (Chair)
• Patrice Vanhyle pvhtranslate AT yahoo.com

ELECTION SCHEDULE
Following the publication of the slate of candidates to our membership, there will be a 30-day window of time in which written petitions from additional candidates will be accepted. Each candidate’s petition to be added to the ballot must be accompanied by signatures of 15 FLD members in good standing.

In the case of an uncontested election, Division officers shall be declared by acclamation. In the case of a contested election, balloting shall be conducted only by mail ballot, and ballots will be mailed to membership no later than September 15, 2010. Faxed ballots will be accepted. There will be no voting by proxy.

July 2 Deadline for nomination for officers to Nominating Committee
July 21 Slate of candidates published
September 4 Deadline for receipt of petition to add candidates to slate
September 15 Ballots mailed if more than one candidate running for any office
October 20 Deadline for receipt of ballots

We hope you will take this opportunity to consider stepping forward as a volunteer during the coming year – if not as a candidate for office, then perhaps as a mentor to a new member or a contributor to our division newsletter. There are many ways to be involved, and volunteering is a wonderful way not only to share your experience but also to expand your network of contacts.

As always, your support of the French Language Division and ATA is appreciated.

Thank you,
2010 FLD Nominating Committee

ATA 51st Annual Conference Presentation Proposals Due March 8

2010-03-04T14:58:00.003+01:00

The American Translators Association is now accepting presentation proposals for ATA's 51st Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado (October 27-30, 2010).

Submissions are invited from all areas of translation and interpreting, including financial, legal, medical, literary, media, science and technology, terminology, training and pedagogy, independent contracting,and language services providers. Sessions may be language-specific or general.

All proposals are selected through a competitive peer-review process.

As the current Administrator of the French Language Division I would like to encourage the "experts" among you to make a presentation at the ATA's Annual Conference this Fall in Denver, Colorado. This will offer you a unique opportunity to enhance your professional standing. ATA also offers speakers discounted conference registration fees.

If you do decide to present a paper, please make sure that you select "French" as the "Topic of presentation" if it is related to the French Language of course! This is a separate selection from the "presenting language" where you can select either French or English depending on the language you are most comfortable in for your presentation.

Visit http://www.atanet.org/conferencesandseminars/proposal.php to learn more about the proposal process and to access the proposal form.

The deadline for submitting a presentation proposal is March 8, 2010.

Thank you very much for your willingness to share your precious knowledge with your peers!

__________________________________________________

FOR QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE FRENCH LANGUAGE DIVISION PRESENTATIONS:

Contact: Virginia Fox, FLD Administrator

Email: vkfox@vkfox.com

FOR ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTIONS? NEED INFO?
Contact Maggie Rowe, Membership Services Manager
Phone: (703) 683-6100
Email: Maggie@atanet.org
__________________________________________________

MAKE PLANS NOW TO ATTEND!!

ATA 51st Annual Conference
Hyatt Regency Denver
Denver, Colorado
October 27-30, 2010

SDL Global Financial Intelligence Report: A World of Opportunities for Financial Translators

2010-02-22T13:08:00.004+01:00

Alan Dages

SDL sponsors several webinars a month aimed at their client base of translation companies and freelance translators. These presentations began in order to instruct users on how to get the best performance from SDL's computer aided translation products (Trados and SDLX) and have now expanded to include discussions on industry trends. The Global Financial Intelligence Report, held on January 14 of this year, falls into the latter category. The format was a three-person panel that you could hear but not see, moderated by a fourth person. Katherine Weller, as the SDL representative, opened the program by citing the SDL mission statement and some figures expressing SDL’s predominant role in the computer aided translation business. Ms Weller also explained how the event’s 250 listeners could pose questions to the panelists by using a chat function. She then introduced Mary Ellen Kelly, the moderator, by describing her background.

Ms Kelly has been a Vice President of Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney since 1997. She has concurrently been a Freelance Translator of financial and legal publications from Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian into English. Previously, she was Latin American Marketing Director of a communications equipment manufacturer and distributor in suburban Philadelphia. Ms Kelly described the webinar’s purpose as 1) demonstrating the opportunities these unprecedented times of turmoil in the financial markets can afford to experienced and aspiring financial translators, 2) defining the barriers to entry, and 3) offering practical steps and resources required to clear these hurdles. She then introduced the first of three panelists, Marian S. Greenfield.

Marion Greenfield is currently a freelance translator of Spanish, Portuguese and French into English who also works as a translation industry consultant. She has translated in New York's financial district for over 20 years. She also served as ATA President from 2005 to 2007 and chairs its Professional Development Committee. She served the New York Circle of Translators as President and Treasurer, and was Co-chair of the ATA’s East Coast Regional Conference Organizing Committee. Marian is currently writing a book, A Guide to Ramping Up Your Translation Business, with co-author Kerri Modla. It is scheduled to be released this year.

Unlike most financial translators, Marion had a background neither in finance nor in translation when she started out. Having majored in Spanish, she began her career as an in-house translator for three New York banks where she had access to the authors of the documents she edited. She was often asked to give sight translations for financial analysts who would then explain the theory behind the financial concepts and terms she encountered in Spanish. Over a period of years, Marion gained a background in finance on the job. She supplemented this training by reading the financial press and taking courses in finance. Later she organized financial translation seminars under the auspices of the ATA.

Marion’s advice to beginning freelancers is to contribute to their ATA regional chapters and language divisions by volunteering their time and writing articles. Later, as they gain experience, they can dramatically enhance their reputation by making presentations at ATA conferences.

Stephanie Tramdack-Cash was the next panelist to take the podium. Unlike Marion, Stephanie first learned about finance in school. She holds an undergraduate degree in English from Bryn Mawr College, and earned an MBA in finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. She then worked for about twenty years in securities analysis and portfolio management with firms in Philadelphia, New York, and Montreal. Stephanie later moved to Cape May Court House to be with her new husband and found there was no place within commuting distance to practice her trade. She then taught French at several schools up to the community college level. This led to earning a Certificate in Translation Studies online from the University of Illinois, which prepared her for her next venture as a freelance translator of French into English with specialties in financial and maritime matters. As she described her background, Stephanie stressed the importance of the ATA and its role in fostering collegial exchanges. As a freelancer just starting out, Stephanie “felt right at home” in the ATA and its regional chapter, the Delaware Valley Translators Association (DVTA), where she attended conferences and other events. Stephanie now is kept busy translating for agencies which are the subsidiaries of large banks in France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Ms Kelly asked Stephanie what has been the new client trend since 9/11, to which she replied new regulations aimed at encouraging financial institutions to know their customers better. Money laundering and corporate governance are two other areas receiving new regulation, and typify a trend to re-regulation, which could create a lot of translation work. Mutual funds are also a current hot topic. When asked to cite the biggest obstacle to the new financial translator, Stephanie cited “the disease of perfectionism” which she defined as striving so hard to do your best that it results in inertia. As further advice, she suggested attending the Université d'été to be held this summer in Luxembourg City. This is a biennial conference sponsored by the Société française des traducteurs and is attended by the leading translators working from and into French. She also mentioned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute as being a good source of information on finance.

Anne Connor was the last panelist to speak. Anne is currently President of the Delaware Valley Translators Association. Since 1991, she has been a freelance Italian-to-English and Spanish-to-English translator specializing in the business, legal and medical fields. Before that, she worked as a staff translator for the commodities trading division of a multinational corporation, and as an international marketing specialist for a major food producer.

When asked about the industry trends since 9/11, Anne described how she started doing financial translations of documents produced by a big lawsuit involving an Italian multinational corporation, which kept her busy for years. She bought SDLX to manage the heavy workload and then purchased Trados when SDLX was acquired by SDL. She was first asked to edit the translations of others done on Trados, and learned to use the tool gradually.

By way of advice to those interested in financial translation, Anne suggests they enter their profile in the ATA and DVTA databases, which are consulted by prospective clients. She also suggested attending conferences and seminars offered by your regional chapter. Over the past five years, the DVTA has invited experts at least twice a year to speak at its seminars for translators and interpreters. She advises beginners to be flexible about working on weekends and evenings, saying that was a way of fostering an ongoing relationship with project managers. Anne believes it still pays to send your résumé to language services providers, a task made easier by online application forms.

A short question and answer period followed with listeners submitting their questions in writing. Marion answered the first query on the use of CAT tools to translate annual reports. She uses Trados to translate highly repetitive central bank annual reports and achieves an output of up to 10,000 words a day at times. Marion also uses ABBY Transformer to convert pdf files for use in Trados.

In the author’s opinion, this webinar was a bit limited by its hour-long format. Beginning financial translators could glean possible strategies from the three panelists’ varied backgrounds, and the advice they provided. Mary Ellen Kelly as moderator kept the discussion moving on schedule and posed the necessary questions. This was made easier by the panelists’ efforts to give succinct, targeted responses. They also offered to answer additional questions by email. In general, the webinar lived up to its promise and SDL should be commended for expanding the scope of these presentations.

Alan Dages
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Conference session review: “Research Techniques for French to English Legal Translation” (session LAW-2) by Cynthia L. Hazelton, JD, Hazelton Translations

2009-12-31T19:23:00.003+01:00

Review by Eugenia Tumanova, Quality Manager, Legal & Intellectual Properties, TransPerfect Translations. Contact: eugenia@tumanova.org. Session description here.

Most translators, including those who do not seek it out, are eventually asked to translate a legal document. Occasional and seasoned legal translators alike seek reliable dictionaries, glossaries, and well-organized reference documents and websites to help them achieve utmost accuracy and clarity in their translations. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that this presentation was eagerly awaited at the annual conference, as was evident from the number of people in attendance.

An affable and clear communicator, Cynthia L. Hazelton, JD, drew on her teaching experience and a background in law to guide us through the basic issues in legal translation, give us an overview of the types of resources used to research legal terminology, and illustrate the main points of the presentation through examples.

A legal translator has to ask some of the same questions as a translator in any other field: What is the purpose of the text? Who is its intended audience? What register should be used? However, the legal translator is further challenged by the convoluted style of legal writing, the use of common words having entirely different meanings in legal contexts, and a vocabulary otherwise absent from regular discourse. As if that were not enough, the legal translator must probe further to identify the legal system that serves as the framework of the document and recognize any additional differences in legal concepts and terminology that might exist between the country in which the document originated and the country where the translation will be used.

After a discussion of the broad differences between civil law, common law, combined civil and common law, and the various religious law systems that exist, Hazelton showed a map that illustrated that it is crucial for a French-English translator to be knowledgeable about the different systems of law: all four systems exist in the French-speaking world.

Hazelton identified three categories of resources available to the legal translator. Primary resources are the original legislative codes, laws, treaties, court decision, and trial transcripts. Secondary sources interpret, evaluate, and comment on the primary documents and can take the form of articles in scholarly journals, criticism or commentary, magazine or newspaper articles. Many international organizations, such as the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the World Health Organization, to name a few, publish works that fall in this category, and frequently these publications are in English and French. Finally, tertiary sources, which include encyclopedias, dictionaries, glossaries, and textbooks, distill information from primary and secondary sources. While these are undeniably useful resources, translators must not become “stuck” working solely with tertiary resources, and should be prepared to dig through secondary and primary resources when searching for the right term.

Finally, Hazelton reminded us to never underestimate the value of an expert’s opinion. As we build our own lists of favorite resources, develop our personal glossaries, and nurture our professional networks, it would behoove every dedicated legal translator to build contacts with experts in the fields of legal translation and law, colleagues that could be called on in a pinch to demystify a tortuous sentence or resolve a terminology conundrum.

Resources

Suggested Reading on Common and Civil Law

Cairns, W. 1995. Introduction to French Law. Routledge Cavendish.†

Canadian Bar Association – Ontario, et. al. 1994. The New Civil Code: A Practical Guide to What Every Ontario Lawyer Needs to Know about Québec Law. Ottawa: CBAO.

David, R. and De Vries, H. 1958. The French Legal System: An Introduction to Civil Law Systems. Oceana Publications.†

Glendon, M., Carozza, P. and Picker, C. 2008. Comparative Legal Traditions in a Nutshell. West.

Kempin, F. 1990. Historical Introduction to Anglo-American Law in a Nutshell. West Group Publishing.

Merryman, J. and Perez-Perdomo, R. 2007. The Civil Law Tradition: An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Europe and Latin America. Stanford University Press.

Séroussi, R. 2003. Introduction aux droits anglais et américains. Dunod.†

Weston, M. 1991. An English Reader’s Guide to the French Legal System. Berg Publishers.

Monolingual Legal Resources (Print)

Garner, B. ed., Black’s Law Dictionary†† (English)

Boyé, E. 2001. L’anglais des contrats internationaux. Litec.†

Cohen, M. 2007. Legal Research in a Nutshell. Thomson West.

Corbière, F. 1993. Les mots-clés du droit. Breal.

Bilingual Legal Resources (Print)

Bridge, F. H.S. 1994. The Council of Europe French-English Legal Dictionary. Council of Europe.††

Dhuicq, B. and Frison, D. Lexique bilingue de l’anglais juridique. Pocket.†

Guillien, R. and Vincent, J. 2010. Lexique des termes juridiques. Dalloz-Sirey.

Kurgansky, A., et al. 1992. Dictionnaire économique et juridique. L.G.D.J.

Robert & Collins Super Senior French to English and English to French Dictionary. 2 Volumes. ††

de Saxcé, F. 2007. Dictionnaire comptable, fiscal et financier. French & European Publications.††

Monolingual Legal Resources (Online)

Avocat On-line *** (French)

BBP Avocats *** (French)

Droit Pratique *** (French)

Duhaime’s Legal Dictionary *** (English)

French Ministry of Justice: Les Mots Clés de la Justice *** (French)

Harvard Law School: One-L Dictionary *** (English)

Harvard Law School: Canadian Legal Research Guide ** (English)

Petite Lexique de la Justice *** (French)

Tjaden, T. 2008. Doing Legal Research in Canada - Introduction: The Canadian Legal System http://www.llrx.com/features/ca_intro.htm ** (English)

United States Code * (English)

Bilingual or Multilingual Legal Resources (Online)

French Civil Code in French (PDF format) and in English here and here. *

Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce de Paris, French-English Dictionary for Use at the Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce de Paris (PDF format) ***

International Court of Justice *

Jugements de la Cour suprème du Canada *

Juriterm **

NATO Glossary of Abbreviations Used in NATO Documents and Publications (PDF format) ***

Québec Civil Code (in English and in French) *

General Online Resources ***

InterActive Terminology for Europe (IATE)

Grand Dictionnaire Terminologique

Termium

Word Reference

United Nations Multilingual Terminology Database

* Primary sources

** Secondary sources

*** Tertiary sources

† Out of print/limited availability, check your library and second hand stores

†† Indispensable, according to the presenter.

Disclaimer:

Hyperlinks to Amazon.com listings are provided for information only and is not an endorsement of this bookseller over any other.

Conference session review: “Anatomy of a Patent” (session LAW-8) by Dr. Bruce D. Popp

2009-12-17T02:21:00.005+01:00

Review by Stephanie Strobel

Bruce D. Popp was awarded a Ph.D. in astronomy by Harvard University. A former telecom professional, he now translates technical subjects from French to English. He has near-term plans to sit for the US Patent and Trademark Office registration exam to become a Patent Agent.

Dr. Popp shared a slice of his intimate knowledge of US and European patents during his presentation “Anatomy of a Patent” at the 50th ATA Annual Conference held in New York City. At the start of the session Dr. Popp provided a list of resources (see the end of this article).

Prior to the dissection of the selected specimen, Dr. Popp shared some of the types of patents that exist: Utility, Design, and Plant. Among other things, we learned what can be patented: “any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof,” and what cannot be patented: natural phenomena, mathematical algorithms and purely mental concepts.

The subject of the dissection was the patent for an item we could easily grasp: a humble pizza box with an improved closure, US Patent 5,702,054. Dr. Popp discussed the cover page of our specimen, pointing out what to expect and noting what was missing from this particular patent.

We got an up close and personal look at the form and content of the claims section. To be able to file a patent application, it must have at least one claim. Claims can be independent or dependent. An independent claim stands on its own and might describe a widget for example, while a dependent claim refers back to a previous claim and further restricts the subject of the claim, perhaps specifying that the widget is blue. Dr. Popp stated that the US Patent Office charges additional fees for patents with over three independent claims or more than 20 total claims.

Dr. Popp highlighted the differences, US vs. Europe, regarding “multiply dependent” claims. A multiply dependent claim is a dependent claim that refers back to more than one previous claim. European practice makes extensive use of multiply dependent claims, while US Patent Office rules limit the use of multiply dependent claims and charge additional fees when they are used. One interesting and possibly confusing feature of the US patent is that even though it has numerous headings, the most important section, the claims section, ironically has no heading at all.

Though the queries from attendees tempted him, Dr. Popp deftly avoided delving into the physiology of the patent and remained focused on its anatomy.

By the way, Dr. Popp’s personal favorite patent is US Patent 5,406,549 in the telecom sector.

Here are Dr. Popp’s recommendations for those interested in developing patent translation skills:

1. Find a patent in your target language, in a domain you are comfortable with, and become familiar with the format and terminology.

2. Press on. Patents repeat information three times. So if you don’t understand something, continue reading and it may be explained more clearly later in the document.

3. Your translation must be faithful to the original text. Don’t add anything. If you find an error (suppose the source says “up” when it should obviously say “down”), it is best to make a note of this on a separate sheet of translator’s notes. You may also make a note of any other problem. Making corrections is the patent practitioner’s job. The translator’s notes will make that job easier. Your client may of course have a different preference.

Resources

Print Resources

Carroll, Alison, ed. The Patent Translator’s Handbook. Alexandria, Virginia: American Translators Association, 2007. (http://atanet.org/publications/index.php).

Pressman, David. Patent it Yourself, 14^th edition, Nolo Press.

Internet Resources

Copies of Patents

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/ US, EP, PCT, and Patent Abstracts of Japan (English interface)

http://ep.espacenet.com/ EP, US, many other countries (English/French/German interface)

http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/ PCT Applications (interfaces in various languages)

http://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/search/national_databases.html Links to national patent offices

Sources for Legislation, Regulation and Treaties

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/mpep.htm (Title 35 of U.S. Code and Title 37 of Code of Federal Regulation, also Manual of Patent Examination Procedure)

http://www.epo.org/patents/law/legal-texts/epc.html European Patent Convention (governs European Patent Office) published in three languages, presented in parallel

http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/ Patent Cooperation Treaty, available in various languages

http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/initRechCodeArticle.do (on the pull-down, choose “Code de la propriété intellectuelle”)
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Conference session review: “Organisations Internationales : Un Défi À Relever” (conference seminar F-4) by FLD distinguished speaker Dr. Maite Aragonés Lumeras

2009-12-10T18:36:00.011+01:00

Review by Alan Dages (photo below)

Dr. Aragonés began her presentation by saying that international organizations (IOs) represent a considerable share of the translation market and thus provide a steady flow of work. However, since the 1970s, their translators have had to follow manuals with rigid guidelines that cannot always be applied to the wide range of texts to be translated. At the present time, text revision is subjective in that reviewers make changes based on habit, preference and ideology. Much remains to be done to harmonize the revision function so revisers understand that their role is to control quality and provide training and not to call the translator’s ability into question. Greater tolerance is needed.

The IOs entered a “golden age” of translation in the 1970s and 80s as their mission turned to promoting multilinguism and multiculturalism. Translation became mandatory to the extent it became a part of the IOs’ corporate image. Organizations recruited large numbers of translators and interpreters to handle a growing workload. The United Nations (UN) unveiled its Manuel à l’usage des traducteurs in 1988 intended to train in-house translators and better harmonize their translations since several individuals could be working on a single text. By the mid-1990s, translation budgets had grown to the point that IOs hired fewer translators in house to reduce costs. They also began making greater use of outside translators for short-term projects just as the advent of the personal computer permitted outsourcing work to freelance translators working at home.

With the new millennium, outsourced translations were being revised in house and quality control became a hot topic. A growing volume of material to be translated, together with budget cuts, caused IOs to turn to terminology solutions such as databases and translation memories.

As things stand now, both the UN and the World International Property Organization (WIPO) use a thoroughly linguistic approach to translation based on a prescriptive method based on specific examples. By way of illustration, Dr. Aragonés cited examples from manuals, glossaries and guidelines developed at the UN and WIPO, where she has been a translator and reviser working in Chinese, English, Spanish and French since 1998. The manuals take a restrictive, case-by-case approach to guide the translator, and le mot est maître. The UN manual states, “Les stagiaires ont intérêt à lire très attentivement..." and “Il convient, comme dans le cas de tous les textes à portée normative, de suivre l’original dans toute la mesure possible. […] En particulier : ne pas faire deux phrases là où l'original n'en comporte qu'une ou vice versa."

Translators are admonished to keep to the source text in a literal way while at the same time expressing the equivalent meaning in the target language's style and quality. Proper grammar must be used. Simplicity, clarity and conciseness are key. These general prescriptions are meant to serve equally well for all subjects, be they general, legal, technical, budgetary, political, administrative, economic or financial without factoring in the concept of text genre. Hence, the UN prescribes, “Dans ce genre de textes, on se gardera tout autant d'interpréter l'original ou d'ajouter des mots qui n'y figurent pas. Par exemple, une phrase telle que “Agrees in principle to the need of an expert group to assist the Committee...” est à traduire par “Reconnaît en principe qu'il est nécessaire qu'un groupe d'experts aide le Comité...” et non par "Reconnaît en principe la nécessité de créer un groupe d'experts pour assister le Comité”. Dr. Aragonés mentioned that it would, however, be possible to write “reconnaît en principe la nécessité de se référer/de s’en remettre à un groupe d’experts …” Even though a word has been added, the meaning has not changed.

Yet this prescriptive method inevitably results in apparent contradictions as in this quote from the UN manual under the heading, Qualité: “Le bon traducteur ne traduit pas mot à mot ni même phrase par phrase; d’instinct comme de raison, il se réfère à chaque instant au contexte.” This would appear to go against the previous advice to adhere to the source text while maintaining its sentence structure at all times.

IO guidelines contain a wealth of equivalencies, i.e. recommended translations from English to French of examples that may bear little resemblance to normal patent usage. These address such minutia as specific word choices as shown below:

Need : besoin, nécessité OMPI 08; exigence, impératif; s’impose ONU 88
compelling need à Il est absolument nécessaire
In need of à ayant besoin de, nécessitant (see “patient”)
patient/subject in need thereof à patient/sujet ayant besoin (d’un tel traitement), patient dont l’état nécessite (un tel traitement).

This proposal is in fact a translation that does not respect the conventions of patents written in French where the preferred use is “patients” or “malades” alone. Indeed, little is left to chance using this approach, but does it yield better translations?

IO manuals also contain examples of different types of texts that could be improved, which are offered only to illustrate the range of possible subjects the translator might encounter. Other guidelines include advice on abbreviations, capitalization, spelling and the use of gerunds.

Dr. Aragonés held out text genre as the guiding principle for a linguist working at the UN or WIPO, calling it the translator’s “GPS”. Aristotle was the first to study and write about text genre, but the notion took hold in literature and, much later, in cinematography. During the 1980s it turned up in sociolinguistics and rhetorics, particularly for teaching foreign languages to experts (Language for Specific Purposes, or LSP). Text genre originates from recurring situations and can be identified by the members of discursive communities who use it as a communications platform. The translator, as an outsider, can use text genre to glean missing contextual information, given she knows neither the issues and conventions nor even the intentions and objectives of the authors and readers. Far from being just a formal prototype, text genre socializes the members of a community, serving as a constantly changing model for negotiation among parties. Hence, it also socializes translators through the use of a corpus of texts, which becomes their documentation tools. This familiarizes them with IO conventions, thereby making it easier to produce a readable translation that meets the user’s expectations while keeping faithful to the author’s intentions.

Dr. Aragonés is currently training two fellows at WIPO’s PCT Translation Department based on text genre, which is the core of her teaching method known as “contextualization”. She uses this method to teach trainees how to translate from Chinese into French. The results are convincing, and the translation quality after two months’ training is excellent. The trainees now respect the formal patent conventions without betraying the intentions of the patent engineers and inventors.

A discussion ensued following the presentation in which a translator said the UN will train and restrict you at first, but if you are really competent, you will be given greater latitude. Another UN translator pointed out that manuals ensure adherence to conventions and harmonization. Dr. Aragonés responded that there is still a great deal of disagreement between translators and revisers and among revisers themselves at international organizations. The subjectivity of language often results in drawn-out, fruitless and polemical debates if objective criteria are not defined. Translators and revisers must not impose their subjective choices; rather they should adhere to the text genre and formal conventions already chosen and negotiated between authors and their readers, who together form an integral part of a discursive expert community with clear objectives.
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Mémoires de ma première conférence annuelle de l’ATA

2009-11-28T03:06:00.009+01:00

de Manon King

Je redoutais un peu la conférence annuelle de l’ATA vantée depuis plusieurs mois dans la revue de l’association, The ATA Chronicle, qui promettait une participation de plus de 2 000 personnes, une perspective un peu intimidante pour une néophyte. Mais mon inquiétude a vite fondu au soleil de l’ATA ! L’arrivée au Marriott Marquis, l’hôtel de la conférence, après avoir fendu les flots humains sur Time Square m’a donné l’impression d’être en partance, avec toute une cohorte de touristes internationaux enthousiastes, pour une croisière en paquebot de luxe. Puis l’assistance souriante d’une volontaire à l’enregistrement, le programme bariolé des festivités, l’activité bourdonnante des anciens se retrouvant avec joie, les échanges spontanés avec d’autres conférenciers dans les ascenseurs futuristes, et la réception de bienvenue pleine à craquer m’ont rassurée : cette aventure allait être bien intéressante. Et comble de chance, ma chambre au 29^ième étage avait une vue directe sur Times Square et ses panneaux publicitaires que j’ai bien entendu immédiatement (et sans grand succès à vrai dire) pris en photo avec mon portable pour impressionner mes enfants.

Le lendemain matin, je me suis rendue compte que la conférence de l’ATA a également des objectifs sérieux de rencontres et approfondissement pour linguistes professionnels de toute mouture. La journée a commencé avec un petit déjeuner fort apprécié et une réunion plénière bondée. Puis les participants se sont éparpillés parmi des dizaines de présentations spécialisées réparties dans un labyrinthe à multiple étages, soit pour tester le QI des conférenciers, soit pour nous faire faire un peu de sport d’autorité puisqu’il était évident que personne n’aurait le temps d’utiliser la salle de gym !

Sur les conseils d’Anne Vincent, j’ai assisté au séminaire destiné aux nouveaux conférenciers, bien utile pour comprendre les diverses pastilles de couleur, codes de présentation et autres subtilités si évidentes pour les anciens. La salle était pleine à craquer, de multiples questions ont fusé, les animatrices de la présentation ont gentiment calmé nos nerfs et surtout, j’ai compris qu’il fallait religieusement remplir la fiche rose de commentaires après chaque présentation pour peut-être gagner un prix ! En tant que novice de l’ATA, je me suis rendue ensuite à la séance sur la préparation de la fameuse certification ATA qui s’est avérée plus tendue que la première car 160 candidats s’apprêtaient à passer l’examen à la fin de la conférence et étaient visiblement nerveux. Les animateurs ont offerts des conseils précis, pratiques et utiles qui n’ont peut-être pas calmés les esprits fébriles mais ont clairement expliqué à quoi les candidats pouvaient s’attendre. La rigueur du processus de certification m’a impressionnée et encouragée à tenter l’examen, bien que le taux de réussite de 20 % soit un peu décourageant !

J’ai eu un peu de mal à choisir à quels autres séminaires assister, il y en a tellement, mais j’ai fini par opter entre autres pour ceux de la division française (sur les slogans de François Lavallée, toujours passionnant et instructif ; et sur la recherche dans le domaine juridique de Frédéric Houbert pleins d’astuces utiles) et pour les sketchs désopilants de Leah Ruggieri-Ortiz et Joe McClinton, sur les mille façons dont les traducteurs et chefs de projet se font mutuellement grimper au mur. Et bien entendu, je me suis rendue dans la salle de stands pour y déposer une pile de CV et de cartes de visite, y rencontrer mes futurs clients et évaluer les nouveaux logiciels de traduction.

Je me suis vite rendue compte que l’un des mérites principaux de la conférence est qu’elle permet aux membres de l’ATA de se rencontrer et de discuter de façon informelle dans les couloirs entre les séminaires ou autour d’une tasse de café, le fameux « networking », si difficile à traduire dans notre langue cartésienne ! J’ai ainsi pu finalement mettre un visage sur l’adresse Internet de plusieurs clients et rencontrer toute une myriade de traducteurs, interprètes, représentants d’agence travaillant dans différentes langues, domaines, voire continents avec lesquels j’ai pu partager des anecdotes ou conseils.

Je n’ai pas pris part aux séances de « speed networking », trop stressantes et artificielles à mon goût. J’ai eu la chance qu’Anne me présente à de nombreux nouveaux clients potentiels, mais plusieurs traducteurs et agents se sont plaints d’avoir du mal à rencontrer qui des clients, qui des prestataires.

J’ai, à ma grande joie, joué le rôle d’entremetteuse dans plusieurs cas mais il semblerait opportun d’organiser un système plus transparent, comme par exemple des « tables de rencontre » avec des agents d’un côté et des prestataires de l’autre.

Les soirées à New York ne sont jamais ennuyeuses, mais la plus mémorable a été le dîner de groupe de la division française à La Bonne Soupe. Quelle excellente idée, merci Anne ! Ce fut une façon fort agréable, délicieuse et détendue de rencontrer de nouveaux collègues. François Lavallée a couronné la soirée en déclamant, à notre insistance, plusieurs de ses poèmes en alexandrins dont le fameux Cheval Vert (en français puis en « québécois ») qui ont fait rire le restaurant tout entier.

Pour conclure, ma première « croisière » à bord de la conférence annuelle de l’ATA a été un succès retentissant. J’en garderai un excellent souvenir personnel et professionnel et compte fermement en faire une tradition annuelle comme de nombreux autres participants. L’enthousiasme, la passion et la gentillesse de mes collègues lors de la conférence continuent de m’inspirer pendant ces longues heures passées en tête à tête avec mon ordinateur tous les jours : j’ai finalement trouvé bon port !

Ma première conférence (28-31 octobre 2009)

2009-11-21T00:25:00.009+01:00

de Catherine Stevenson (cathstevenson@comcast.net)

Cette année, la conférence annuelle de l’ATA se déroule à New York, au sein du prestigieux Marriott Marquis, à deux pas de Times Square.

Jeudi

Le premier jour, j’arrive le cœur battant, curieuse et impatiente de découvrir ce que tous ces traducteurs et interprètes ont à dire sur l’état de notre profession, ses tendances, ses nouveautés.

Première découverte : les petits autocollants ronds et colorés indiquant les langues de travail. Tout un chacun essaie de deviner quelle langue se cache derrière le bleu foncé ou le vert clair. D’aucuns arborent pas moins de trois ou quatre autocollants tandis que d’autres, plus modestes ou moins savants, c’est selon, portent un seul autocollant, voire deux. Autre découverte : les happy few ayant décroché leur certification marchent d’un pas assuré, bombant un torse annonçant fièrement, non sans raison, qu’ils sont ‘CERTIFIES’. D’après ce que j’ai entendu dire, cette distinction est d’autant plus méritoire qu’elle n’est octroyée qu’à un candidat sur cinq, lors de chaque session d’examen.

Arrivée en retard à la session d’orientation réservée aux « nouveaux », dont je suis, je décide d’aller faire un tour au cinquième étage, où sont regroupés les agences de traduction, vendeurs de logiciels et autres entreprises en mal de recrutement. Je dégaine mes cartes de visite, échange quelques mots par-ci, quelques politesses par-là et je passe en revue tous les stands. Les agences me demandent de me connecter à leur site et de leur donner mes spécialités et mes tarifs, sésames indispensables à toute future collaboration.

L’après-midi, je me rends à ma toute première session, intitulée « How to successfully market yourself to translation companies » et présentée par George Rimalower. Son exposé est bien construit et logique et il offre une mine de conseils pratiques et judicieux sur la manière de rédiger son CV, le mode d’approche à respecter pour se faire remarquer par les agences et les règles de conduite à suivre pour être le parfait petit traducteur indépendant. J’en ressors avec le sentiment apaisant d’avoir appris quelque chose d’utile.

Autour de 19 heures, je vais à une session de « networking » pour le moins décevante. Comment expliquer en effet que des personnes ayant payé 45 dollars pour circuler entre les groupes, distribuer leur carte de visite et élargir leur réseau professionnel s’évertuent à faire exactement le contraire ? Je passe sur la malencontreuse pénurie de nourriture qui, bien que regrettable, n’explique pas, à elle seule, l’échec de cette session.

Vendredi

Le lendemain, je vais écouter l’exposé de François Lavallée clamant avec ferveur : « Les slogans, j’en fais mon affaire ! ». Je suis emballée par le fait que cette session est en français et espère passer un bon moment… A l’issue de cette session, je suis conquise par l’analyse convaincante que nous expose cet orateur brillant sur la manière de produire des slogans en français et en anglais. Assurément, il a fort bien articulé ses arguments, les a assortis d’une kyrielle d’exemples bien choisis, sans pour autant oublier de parsemer ses propos de notes d’humour qui captent notre attention et la retiennent jusqu’au bout. Bravo, Monsieur Lavallée !

Après le déjeuner, je décide d’aller écouter Jutta Diel-Dominique, dont la session consiste en une séance de questions-réponses sur la préparation du tant redouté examen de certification de l’ATA. Elle est accompagnée d’un autre responsable de l’ATA dont le nom n’est malheureusement pas mentionné sur le programme. Cette session, dont l’intitulé exact est : « Preparing to take the ATA Certification Exam : Questions and Answers », est fort bienvenue et attire les foules. Madame Diel-Dominique répond aux questions avec aplomb, sérieux, diplomatie et finesse. Je ressors néanmoins sans avoir vraiment rien appris d’essentiel, malgré la qualité des réponses. En revanche, je suis particulièrement surprise, pour ne pas dire déçue, par une bonne majorité des questions posées. Leur nature me donne à penser que les candidats potentiels qui les soulèvent ne sont pas prêts à passer l’examen. J’ai l’impression qu’ils découvrent ce qu’est la traduction. A cet égard, je ressens une vive admiration envers Madame Diel-Dominique, dont le visage reste serein et posé en toutes circonstances.

Je descends ensuite au 6^ème étage pour suivre l’exposé de Monsieur Jorge U. Ungo, dont la session porte le titre suivant : « Accentuate the positive : Making your résumé sing ». Monsieur Ungo est dynamique, passionné, intéressant. Il sait capter l’attention et ses exemples sont parlants et convaincants. Certains des conseils qu’il nous donne sont en contradiction avec l’exposé que j’avais suivi jeudi, ce qui me fait penser que la rédaction d’un CV n’est pas entièrement dénuée de subjectivité, mais dans l’ensemble, les recommandations vont dans le même sens et renforcent l’idée de clarté, de professionnalisme et de logique. Cet exposé est vivant et interactif et la volubilité de Monsieur Ungo nous remplit d’enthousiasme et d’énergie.

Je décide de « sécher » la séance de « networking », tant celle de la veille m’avait déçue ! New York by night, here I come !

Samedi

Ce matin est consacré à la réunion annuelle du département français. La salle est comble. Les conversations fusent. Tout le monde échange ses impressions sur la conférence. Madame Virginia Fox nous livre des informations à la pelle et nous parle des problèmes spécifiques à notre groupe. Elle lance un appel aux bonnes volontés pour prendre la relève du département français, qui manque cruellement de bras ou plutôt de plumes.

Avant de dire au revoir à l’insomniaque Big Apple, je me rends à une dernière session intitulée « Leave it to the Pros : Translation project management as a profession ». Dire que cette session me hérisse est un euphémisme : Corlett-Rivera, Mazza, Polakoff et Ritzdorf nous expliquent sans rire que de nos jours, la qualité des traductions importe peu, crise oblige. La mode est aux tarifs bas et pour s’en convaincre, il suffit de les écouter nous prédire que les agences de traduction, qui délocalisent déjà à tour de bras vers la Chine et l’Inde, n’ont pas fini d’abaisser leurs tarifs. Je repars déçue par les propos que je viens d’entendre et je m’en retourne vers ma Californie d’adoption convaincue que la qualité paie quand même et qu’il y a un créneau pour nous tous, traducteurs sérieux et attachés au travail bien fait.

Saint-Jérôme, Patron des traducteurs, priez pour nous !

2009 ATA conference: FLD photo highlights

2009-11-16T00:49:00.008+01:00

Manon K. wins a Kindle from R.R. Donnelly

Merci à tous

2009-11-12T20:26:00.006+01:00

Un grand merci à tous pour vos commentaires très positifs sur les sessions de l'ATA, à l'occasion de la dernière conférence à New York. Nous avons eu la grande chance cette année d'avoir neuf (9) sessions formidables avec la FLD et je tiens à remercier tous les présentateurs pour la grande qualité de leurs exposés, leur énergie et la passion avec laquelle ils ont su nous faire partager leur savoir. La conférence n'aurait pas été aussi réussie sans eux !

(Merci Grant Hamilton, Frédéric Houbert, Betty Howell, François Lavallée, Maite Aragones Lumeras et Laurie Treuhaft pour l'excellence de vos présentations !)

Un grand merci également aux bénévoles qui ont organisé les repas, j'aimerais citer en particulier : Anne Vincent, Bob Killingsworth, Karen Tkaczyk, Larry Schoffer, Jean Lachaud et Eve Bodeux. Grâce à eux, nous avons tous eu la possibilité de nous retrouver entre francophones, malgré l'emploi du temps très serré de la conférence et de goûter à quelques-uns des nombreux délices culinaires de New York !

Enfin, un grand merci à tous les participants et notamment à tous ceux qui nous aident à nous améliorer en nous donnant un feedback constructif, en devenant bénévole, ou simplement en nous encourageant dans la bonne direction. À ce propos, j'en profite pour remercier aussi Mylène Vialard, administratrice-adjointe de la FLD, pour son soutien sans faille et pour vous encourager à consulter notre blog et à y partager votre expérience de la conférence.

Excellente semaine à tous, où que vous soyez de par le monde ! (De New York à Nouméa, en passant par Montréal, Québec, Paris, Lyon, Genève, Johannesbourg et Kuala Lumpur !)

Très cordialement,

Virginia K. Fox

Administratrice de la FLD

Conference session review: “Translating Government/Administrative French>English” (preconference seminar Q) by Grant Hamilton

2009-11-10T16:03:00.004+01:00

Review by Jenn Mercer (seminar announcement here)

Grant Hamilton’s seminar on translating government/administrative French>English documents took place the day before the official start of the 50^th ATA Conference, but that did not seem to hurt attendance. There were around 30 translators in attendance and the audience grew as the talk went on. Fortunately for those who arrived late (including myself), Hamilton’s seminar had a simple structure and it was easy to jump right in.

The seminar was designed around a handout which divided examples into various categories containing two to seven exercises each. These categories included “Slippage in Style and/or Meaning,” “Overly Literal Translation,” “Overreliance on Nouns,” “Words Could Have Been Removed, But Weren’t” and “Say What?” Hamilton started with a French phrase, provided a draft translation into English, and then opened the discussion by asking specific questions. Hamilton also encouraged the translators to work on their own translations of the sentences. He then revealed his improved version of the translation.

The discussion which ensued was lively and instructive. Different solutions were presented, but also different translation philosophies. Hamilton listed “devotion to readability” as one of his key goals for the day and advised attendees that “we have to assume someone has a message for somebody.” Hamilton said that “you as a translator, having already made this effort [to understand this message], owe it to readers to simplify the sentence on their behalf.” This statement and similar comments were made in the context of bureaucratic documents provided to ordinary citizens, however one participant pointed out that this level of freedom would not be possible when translating legal documents.

Hamilton is also to be commended on his bravery in putting forth both the draft and “possible” translations in front of such a large crowd of intelligent and eager translators. Despite the fact that the revised translations were a definite improvement on the originals, there were still some errors to be found. Only a few of these were clear-cut examples of right and wrong. For the most part, these disagreements reflected the real difficulties of translation where there are as many right answers as there are wrong ones. These disagreements and the discussions which they produced would have been enough to make this seminar worth attending. Another priceless benefit was the opportunity to commiserate on the level of bureaucratese present in these documents. Hamilton put it best when he said “this kind of text – you just want to cry when you see it.” I have certainly had this feeling myself and judging by the laughter of the audience, I was not the only one.

Due to Hamilton’s detailed preparation, the benefits of this seminar continued well after the seminar itself was over. Hamilton passed out a second handout at the end of the session which contained the text of the improved solutions along with his comments. This was convenient, but there were a few unexpected bonuses at the end of the handout. These included a list of 37 alternate translations for the French word “structurant” as well as a “Translator’s Checklist.” This checklist contained basic questions such as “Can any words be removed?” and “Can I say things in a simpler way?” As if this were not enough, the participants of both of Hamilton’s sessions received PDF’s of this document, plus a few extras such as a handy guide entitled “When you see the word...” This last guide contained examples such as “When you see... accessible, Ask yourself whether you should say... accessible, affordable, available.” All of the checklists and guides which Hamilton provided showed a consistent strategy of looking beyond the surface complications of French bureaucratic texts to deliver clear, and yet faithful, English translations.

This pre-conference seminar was the first one which I attended at this, or any, ATA event. I found it to be informative, but more than that, it was a great introduction to the joy of discussing translation issues with people who really love words. I would like to thank not only Grant Hamilton for his excellent presentation, but also my fellow translators who were so dedicated to finding the absolute best translation.

Conference session review: "La versification classique au XXIe siècle, ou le carcan au service de l'expressivité" (session F8) by François Lavallée

2009-11-08T22:54:00.008+01:00

Session review by Anne Vincent (read the session description here).

J’avais hésité à inclure cette présentation dans mon programme, en raison de son caractère « littéraire », et donc peut-être moins pratique, mais j’avais tellement apprécié l’exposé précédent de François Lavallée (« Les slogans, j’en fais mon affaire ! ») que j’ai décidé d’aller l’écouter nous parler de la versification en français.

En tout cas, je ne craignais pas d’avoir affaire à un cours magistral, ou à la lecture ânonnée de notes écrites : François a une longue habitude des séminaires et de la formation des traducteurs et il est si épris de son sujet qu’écouter l’un de ses exposés me donne l’impression d’assister à l’une de ces démonstrations passionnées entendues lors d’une discussion entre amis.

Car c’est bien de passion dont il s’agit : dans son introduction, François explique qu’il ne s’est jamais remis de la lecture de Racine, et qu’il façonne alexandrins et autres polysyllabes harmonieux depuis le lycée. Après un rappel sur la manière de compter les syllabes, courtes ou longues, peu importe, il suffit de prêter attention au ‘e’ muet, François donne divers exemples d’utilisation, d’interaction et de juxtaposition des différents types de vers. Saviez-vous que la longueur de l’alexandrin lui permet de présenter thèse et antithèse (« À vaincre sans péril, on triomphe sans gloire ») ? Ou que l’alternance d’alexandrins et d’octosyllabes peut réveiller un texte ? (« Et quand vous dénichez,/À coups de malveillance et de mots répétés,/Notre âme épouvantée,/On crie, on se débat, sans même se douter/Qu’on se monte un bateau »). On peut encore opposer deux syllabes percutantes (« Du vent ») en réponse à un alexandrin (« C’est promettre beaucoup : mais qu’en sort-il souvent ? »).

Après des considérations au sujet des rimes, pauvres ou riches, plates, croisées, ou plus simplement embrassées, il aborde ensuite l'harmonisation entre rime et vers :

(« Tout le monde n’est pas de la même famille.

Enfin, que dirait-on

En voyant un ballon

Amoureux d’une aiguille ? »)

Ce que je ne peux rendre ici, c’est le dialogue constant entre François et son auditoire, tandis qu’il nous met au défi de retrouver l’auteur du plus traduit des alexandrins (plus de 105 langues !), « Je suis mon cher ami, très heureux de te voir », tout en ajoutant que, pour lui, le plus bel alexandrin est sans doute celui que prononce Phèdre, « Tout m'afflige et me nuit et conspire à me nuire ». Il mêle extraits de Racine, vers de La Fontaine, citations de Brel et de Brassens et la lecture de plusieurs de ses propres fables, dont la très joyeuse, plaisante et récréative histoire du Cheval vert dont le joual eût séduit Rabelais. Pour conclure, François nous rappelle (car on a bien dû nous le dire au cours de cette éducation si classique dispensée à notre adolescence insouciante ?) que seul le français versifie ainsi, alignant magnifiquement rythme et rimes dans une architecture semblable à celle des jardins à la française.

Et le rapport entre la versification classique et la traduction ? Si l’on considère que la versification est un carcan, imposant de modeler une histoire ou une passion à l’aune de règles bien précises, la traduction n’est guère différente, qui nous demande de reprendre le texte d’un autre et de le rendre précisément tout en le pliant aux canons imposés par la grammaire, le style, le registre et quelquefois les exigences absurdes de clients hélas rois. Plus simplement tout exercice de langue, tout jeu de mots, toute activité modulant l’écriture peuvent être considérés comme un entraînement à la traduction.

(Remarque : allez donc rechercher dans le Racine de votre bibliothèque ce qui désespère Phèdre à ce point, et vous constaterez que vous avez peut-être vous-même été victime de ce qui l’afflige, lui nuit et conspire à lui nuire !)

Interviews with Karen: Céline Détraz

2009-10-24T22:42:00.002+02:00

An interview with translator-interpreter Céline Détraz (left) by contributor Karen Tkaczyk.

For those readers who don’t know you, can you tell us a little about your personal and educational background?

I spent my childhood and early adulthood in France. I studied at the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier, getting a chemical engineering degree, then moved to the US. A few years later, I went to the Monterey Institute of International Studies to get a Masters degree in Translation and Interpretation. I graduated in 1999. I have been freelancing as an En>Fr translator and a Fr<>En interpreter since then. I live in the San Francisco Bay area with my husband and two young daughters.

How or why did you get started in T&I?

I always loved languages. As a child, I made frequent visits to the US for family reasons and was exposed to English early on. Later, I studied German and Russian in school. I always took pleasure in learning languages. However, the French system is such that it strongly encourages students to take the Classes Préparatoires/Grande École path if they are able to. I willingly took this route, all the while knowing that I loved languages, but not really knowing what I could do with them. Half way through my engineering studies, I realized that conference interpreting was something I really wanted to do, so after getting my degree, I moved to the US to work on my English in preparation for going back to school to study conference interpreting. My engineering degree came in really handy as I was able to work as a chemist in the interim.

Do you have a good early story about your business?

Yes, a positive one. Right after I graduated in 1999, my first interpreting job was for the State Department. The State Department often recruits at the MIIS campus so it’s pretty common for new graduates to work for them. My first assignment was with a group of Rwandan delegates: judges visiting the US for three weeks to talk about conflict resolution. This was five years after the genocide in Rwanda and these delegates were trying to bring peace and reconciliation to their country. They were in the process of establishing local village courts known as gacacas, whereby all the perpetrators of genocide would be tried. The stories they told about the genocide were wrenching and what they were trying to do was remarkable. I felt really privileged to be a part of that dialog and to enable that kind of exchange. It just confirmed my choice. I fell in love with my profession all over again during my first assignment. And so I knew that was it – that I was going to stick with this.

What is unusual or unique about your practice, in comparison to your competitors?

I’m not sure that I do anything really unusual. If anything, I would say that I am very diversified, which comes from my nature. I like variety. Translating full time would be far too lonely for me and interpreting full time would be far too stressful. Doing both really gives me the perfect balance. I also do quite a bit of voiceover work, as well as some teaching. I am teaching at the Monterey Institute right now. For me that variety is essential.

Do you have a customer experience or feedback that you are most proud of?

After graduating from Monterey, I moved to New York. In September 2000, during the General Assembly at the UN, I was hired to interpret for Denis Sassou N’Guesso, President of the Republic of Congo, for about a week for the side meetings he had outside the UN sessions. Towards the end of the week, he was having a meeting with a US congressman and launched into a very long anecdote about his life. I was interpreting in consecutive mode so I was furiously taking notes, and he went on and on. At one point the congressman gestured that perhaps he ought to take a break so I could interpret. Sassou N’Guesso said “Oh, don’t worry. I’ve seen her work, she can handle anything.” The comment was of course very satisfying because it showed that I didn’t cramp his style in any way! That is after all the true role of the interpreter: to enable communication without interfering.

Does your business have an online presence? A website, blog or a profile on social web spaces like LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace or YouTube?

I do have a website: www.simply-said.com. I have noticed that some people do find me on the Internet through my website, so I am glad that I took the time to develop it in the early days when I had few clients and lots of time on my hands. I also have a LinkedIn profile, but I don’t really make much use of it.

Do you have an interesting story about a customer interaction you had?

I was in New York when 9/11 occurred. In the days that followed, I was like every New Yorker, wanting to help in some way. I heard, perhaps through the New York Circle of Translators, that the Red Cross was looking for volunteer interpreters to help at the crisis center that had been set up for the families of the victims. They needed interpreters for families who were coming from abroad. I volunteered and happened to be there when the parents of a French person who died in the Twin Towers arrived. It was perhaps two days after 9/11. I interpreted for them during their counseling session. It was heart-wrenching. It was technically perhaps the easiest assignment I ever had, but emotionally it was one of the most challenging interpreting situations I ever encountered. These people were lost and dazed and they had tremendous sorrow and they were grieving. They were thankful to be able to use their native language at this terrible time to talk about the loss of their son. This experience will stay with me forever.

What are some of your greatest challenges in your business?

My greatest challenge has always been the fact that freelancing is all about feast and famine. In terms of income, work flow, and organizing one’s life, it is not easy. However, it is a price I am willing to pay for the variety and flexibility that this profession affords me. The other challenge I have now that I have children is that interpreting requires quite a bit of travelling, which can be hard on family life. It is always a juggling act.

Interviews with Karen: Corinne McKay

2009-09-20T16:10:00.018+02:00

In this profile, the first in our new series of interviews by Karen Tkaczyk, we meet translator Corinne McKay (below).

For those readers who don’t know you, can you tell us a little about your personal and educational background?

After earning a B.A. in French and English from Geneseo College and the University of Grenoble, France, and an M.A. in French Literature and Culture from Boston College, I launched my freelance translation business (Translatewrite) in 2002 and have never looked back. Since then, I’ve become certified by the American Translators Association for French to English translation and have focused my business on legal, corporate communications and public health/international development translations. I live with my husband and daughter in Boulder, Colorado.

How/Why did you get started in T&I?

I was a high school French teacher and seven years ago when my daughter was born I was looking into how I could work from home and use my French. I didn’t know much about the T&I industry: didn’t know you translated into your native language, didn’t really know the difference between translation and interpreting, but I got my first freelance jobs around the time my daughter was born and from there everything has combined to produce a happy career.

Do you have a good early story about your business?

I do: a story of my naivety. I had sent my resume to all the agencies listed in the ATA database that might work with French. My first project was a certificate or diploma of some sort. I had no idea that a great portion of translating this type of document is to reproduce the formatting of the original. So I opened up an email, typed in the text in the email (not even in a Word document!) and delivered it, thinking “This was the easiest $30 I ever made!” The client was irate.

What is unusual or unique about your practice, in comparison to your competitors?

In comparison to other people I work with I’m more diversified in what I do. The bulk of my income is from translations but my clients are a pretty diverse group. One thing I have that is different is that I have several clients who are not really agencies or direct clients. For example I work with a couple of international development agencies that subcontract work from USAID or other government agencies. Those are some of my favorite kinds of client. They bring a nice balance between the advantages of an agency and the advantages of a direct client.

I also teach an online class, and wrote a book, and I do one-on-one business consulting with individual freelancers. I’m always surprised that few translators have sideline businesses publishing or consulting, or that more translators don’t write books, since most translators like to write. When one area of my business is down, another is inevitably on the up.

Is there someone you look up to in our profession as a model business person or translator/interpreter?

Yes, there are two people: Chris Durban and Judy Jenner.

One way to move up in the profession is to be a better translator. Chris Durban got me to think more about the quality of my translations and the writing process as a way to move up. Once we are established and have therefore reached an adequate level, we often sit still at that level. Chris taught me that if I want to work at a high level, my job is to produce translations better than the original and not to be scared to improve the text. She also helped me aspire to being an added-value provider, more like a bilingual communications consultant than ‘just’ a translator.

Judy Jenner is a real role model for the translator as an entrepreneur. She is not afraid of talking about money. I think all of us are in this business because we enjoy it, but there isn’t anything wrong with wanting to make decent money, or to increase our income annually. Judy helped me think of non-traditional ways of marketing myself. I’m in the process of implementing them. Examples include writing press releases, or marketing my business as 100% wind-powered.

Do you have a customer experience or feedback that you are most proud of?

I keep a file called “inspiration.” Whenever a client writes me something nice I keep it in that folder. I get feedback from people who read my book. I gave a presentation at the Northern California Translators Association in San Francisco this summer, and one attendee came up to me afterwards and said “I think of you as the guardian angel of freelance translators”. That really made my day. Then there was a client who sent me some feedback on my translation. He said “I read translations all day and yours are the ones that are most carefully done.” I have a lot of quality steps that I think a lot of translators don’t bother with (for example proof reading a hard copy) and when I get feedback like that it makes me feel that those quality steps are worth it. The clients who are also focused on quality do notice.

Does your business have an online presence? A website, blog or a profile on social web spaces like Linked In, Facebook, MySpace or YouTube?

The main sites are my business website: www.translatewrite.com, my blog: www.thoughtsontranslation.com, and my LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/corinnemckay

Do you do any non-profit work related to T&I?

I am an active volunteer. I am the President of the Colorado Translators Association, and am on the ATA Certification Maintenance Committee. I am also the immediate past Administrator of the French Language Division.

What are some of your greatest challenges in your business, and has the recession affected you in any way? If so, how?

I find that my work from US-based agencies is way down, but that other areas are strong, showing how valuable my diversified business is.

One current challenge: I feel like the next stage for me would be to market to more direct clients in French speaking countries, and I’m struggling with how to do that. Struggling partially because I feel like cold-contacting direct clients is of limited value, even less so when in another country. So I’m thinking of doing a marketing trip to France to try and meet with some potential clients in person.

About the interviewer: Karen M. Tkaczyk is a French>English and Spanish>English freelance technical translator based in Nevada. Her translation work focuses on chemistry, its industrial applications, and chemical intellectual property. She has a master's degree in Chemistry with French from the University of Manchester, U.K., and a diploma in French and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Cambridge, U.K. She worked in various roles in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries in Europe and the U.S. before becoming a translator in 2005.
Contact: karen@mcmillantranslation.com

De l'Importance de la ponctuation

2009-09-13T08:23:00.071+02:00

Dr. Maite Aragonés Lumeras

Abstract

Punctuation is essential as it is a semantic signpost for the reader. However, under the influence of other languages, translators often imitate the punctuation of the source text and, unconsciously, distort the meaning of the target text. This is a recurring problem that arises in the day-to-day process of translating, especially with poorly written technical source texts. This article aims to provide an aide-mémoire for francophone translators.

Résumé

La ponctuation est essentielle en raison de son utilité comme signalisation sémantique pour le lecteur. Ceci dit, les traducteurs, sous l’influence d’autres langues, calquent souvent la ponctuation du texte de départ et faussent inconsciemment le sens du texte de départ. C’est un problème récurrent qui survient dans l’exercice quotidien de la traduction, notamment avec des textes de départ techniques dont la rédaction est malencontreuse. Cet article vise à proposer aux traducteurs francophones un aide-mémoire.

Entre le point d'exclamation de la vie et le

point d'interrogation de la mort : tout n'est

que ponctuation.

Tristan Maya

La ponctuation est à la communication ce que la signalisation est au trafic ; sans elles, c’est le chaos. Une image vaut mille mots, voilà pourquoi cet exemple, qui a fait le tour du monde, illustre à merveille les dangers et les accidents qu’encourent les utilisateurs et usagers qui ne respectent pas les règles établies.

Un homme riche avant de décéder fit rédiger son testament, mais le notaire, empressé qu’il était de coucher sur papier les dernières volontés du moribond, oublia de ponctuer le texte suivant :

« Je laisse mes biens à ma sœur non à mon neveu jamais sera payé le compte du tailleur rien aux pauvres. »

Le neveu décida de la ponctuation suivante :

« Je laisse mes biens à ma sœur ? Non ! À mon neveu. Jamais sera payé le compte du tailleur. Rien aux pauvres. »

Mais la sœur n’était pas d’accord, elle corrigea le testament ainsi :

« Je laisse mes biens à ma sœur. Non à mon neveu. Jamais sera payé le compte du tailleur. Rien aux pauvres. »

Le tailleur demande la copie de l’original et ponctue le texte de cette manière :

« Je laisse mes biens à ma sœur ? Non. À mon neveu ? Jamais ! Sera payé le compte du tailleur. Rien aux pauvres. »

Là-dessus, les gueux de la ville entrent dans la maison et s’emparent du billet. Ils proposent :

« Je laisse mes bien à ma sœur ? Non. À mon neveu ? Jamais ! Sera payé le compte du tailleur ? Rien. Aux pauvres. »

Ainsi va la vie ; elle nous propose une version de l’existence sans point ni virgule, à nous de la ponctuer… Comme c’est la ponctuation qui fera toute la différence, il est judicieux de nous rafraîchir la mémoire afin d’éviter, d’une part, de tomber dans les mauvaises habitudes et de calquer la ponctuation anglaise en français et, d’autre part, de provoquer des contresens lors de traduction.

Il n’est pas inutile de rappeler au traducteur que la ponctuation est l’ensemble des signes qui, dans la langue écrite, servent à délimiter les unités syntaxiques et à repérer les unités de sens. La ponctuation a donc pour but essentiel de faciliter la compréhension du texte. Elle n’est alors pas affaire d’intuition ; il faut, au contraire, accorder une importance toute spéciale à la connaissance des règles et à leur application. Ne perdons pas de vue que la virgule modifie, comme nous venons de le voir dans notre exemple, le sens. Voyons plus précisément les règles de ponctuation.

Le point, le point d'interrogation et le point d'exclamation

Le point marque la fin d'une phrase (pause forte).
La phrase interrogative est terminée par un point d'interrogation.
La phrase exclamative est terminée par un point d'exclamation. Les phrases impératives peuvent également être terminées par un point d'exclamation.

Les points de suspension

Ils marquent une interruption, une pause dans la parole, l'emphase, ou l'interruption volontaire d'une phrase (réticence) ou d'une énumération.

La virgule

La virgule est une courte pause. Elle permet de :

coordonner plusieurs éléments de même fonction ;
détacher un mot ou un groupe de mots :

          —› apposition :
                     - du syntagme nominal : Martine, sa sœur, a lu
                       le dictionnaire cinq fois.
                     - de l'adjectif : Elle attendait, impatiente, les
                       résultats de ses examens.
                     - de la proposition subordonnée relative : Les
                       résultats de l'examen, qui sont publiés demain,
                       sont très attendus.
          —› thématisation : Le dictionnaire, elle le connaît par cœur.
          —› emphase syntaxique : Ce livre, qu'est-ce qu'il est long !
          —› proposition incise : « Je lis ce dictionnaire », dit-elle,
                d'un air agacé.

Elle ne doit pas se placer entre le GN et le verbe.
On ne met pas de virgule entre la phrase enchâssante et une subordonnée complément de phrase si cette dernière est placée après cette phrase. Ex. « Le président a dû démissionner parce qu’il a été convaincu de favoritisme ».
On emploie la virgule devant une conjonction de coordination : « Il aimerait bien se rendre en Espagne, mais sa crainte de l’avion l’en empêche ».
En revanche, on ne met pas de virgule devant « et », « ou », « ni » si ces conjonctions ne sont employées qu’une seule fois. Si ces conjonctions sont répétées on mettra une virgule : « Le prix de l’essence dépend ou de l’offre, ou des rapports entre pays, ou encore des intérêts financiers des producteurs.
La subordonnée relative déterminante se joint directement à son antécédent sans virgule : « La femme qui a divorcé doit pouvoir récupérer son nom de jeune fille ».
La relative explicative doit être encadrée par des virgules : « La femme, qui porte le chapeau rouge, a eu un accident ».

Le point-virgule

Le point-virgule marque une pause de moyenne durée. Dans la phrase, il peut jouer le même rôle qu'une virgule, notamment pour séparer des parties d'une certaine étendue. Le point-virgule peut également unir des phrases grammaticalement complètes, mais logiquement associées. Le point-virgule sépare les éléments qui font partie de la même unité syntaxique.

Les deux points

Les deux points s'emploient pour :

introduire un discours rapporté (citation) ;
introduire une énumération ;
ou encore introduire une explication.

Les guillemets, les tirets et les parenthèses

Ils servent à ponctuer le discours rapporté (citation).
Il existe des guillemets français (« »).
Le tiret (—) ne doit pas être confondu avec le trait d'union (–). Dans un dialogue, il signale un changement d'interlocuteur.
Les parenthèses renferment généralement un commentaire, une précision ou une rectification.

La question des espaces

« Espace », dans son sens typographique, est du genre féminin.
Il y a une espace entre les mots d'une phrase et entre les phrases.
Il y a zéro espace avant et après une apostrophe.
Il y a zéro espace avant la virgule, mais il y en a une après.
Il y a une espace avant et après les deux points, de même que pour les guillemets (sauf guillemets anglais où il n'y a qu'une espace avant pour le guillemet ouvrant et une espace après pour le guillemet fermant). Il en est de même pour le point-virgule et le tiret.
Pour les parenthèses : une espace avant pour la parenthèse ouvrante et une espace après pour la parenthèse fermante.
Le point n'est pas précédé d'espace, mais il y en a une après.
Pour les points d'interrogation, d'exclamation et le point-virgule : une espace avant et une espace après.
Il n'y a pas d'espace avant les points de suspension, mais il y en a une après.

Bibliographie

Grevisse, M. et Goosse A. (1995), 3e édition, Nouvelle Grammaire française. Duculot.
Leconjugueur.com/frponctuation.php (consultée le 18 juillet 2008).
Synapse-fr.com/typographie (consultée le 27 juin 2008).
« La ponctuation, parent pauvre des lettres » [article 1, article 2] sur le blog des correcteurs du Monde.fr. (consultée le 10 juin 2008).

Maite Aragonés Lumeras has been a translator and reviser at the World Intellectual Property Organization since 1998, working in Chinese, French, Spanish, and English. She is also a professor in Spain and Switzerland. She worked as a freelance translator for several international companies, including China Pictorial and Nestlé. She translated Wang Shuo's novel Vous êtes formidable! into French, and has written a book on translation methodology, Estudio descriptivo multilingüe del resumen de patente: aspectos contextuales y retóricos. She has a PhD in translation studies and communication from the Universitat Jaume I.
Contact: maite.aragones@wipo.int

Welcome to the blog!

2009-09-11T12:24:00.013+02:00

Welcome and bienvenue to the new blog version of A Propos, which comes to replace the former quarterly newsletter of the same name produced by and for the French Language Division of the American Translators Association.

We chose to make this change because of the advantages a blog offers, in particular:

Easier access - With our old newsletter, you had to go to the FLD site and download the newsletter in a pdf version, then scroll through the pages to read the issue. Now you can just add this blog to your bookmarks for one-click access.

More interaction - Our pdf newsletter allowed for very little reader feedback. With the blog, readers will be able to comment (for a limited period of time) on each new article to share their ideas or ask questions (where possible, our authors will follow and respond to comments).

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What else is changing? Although we will still be bringing you the same type of content - articles about translation in the French/English combination (both directions) as well as items related to the languages themselves - we will now be publishing articles one by one on a semi-monthly basis rather than grouping several articles into an issue.

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